The Champion Circuit
by MikeV1
Summary: From all around the world, the strongest trainers have gathered to compete in a year-long tourney of a true test of their skills. They must survive the new, dangerous region and conquer all eighteen gyms. But something far more treacherous brews deep within the challenge. Only one trainer can come out on top. Who will it be? Accepting OCs! See chapter 38! SYOC!
1. Chapter 1

The Champion Circuit

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 1

"Really?" the battle examiner furrowed his brow at the test taker and referred back to his clipboard. As he expected, he let out a disappointed sigh and looked back over at the boy that stood before him. "You're one of _two_ trainers here today that scored PERFECT clear across the board on the written exam. And now here we are at the battle examination portion and you're choosing to battle with _that_ Pokémon?"

"Of course I am!" Tew Hyland barked back at the examiner, folding his arms and growing slightly snappy. "Why wouldn't I pick my best friend to battle with me? I'm honestly a little offended you think of us as so weak!"

The examiner, a man of tall stature dressed in formal clothing that consisted of a blue, button-up shirt and black slacks with loud, brown shoes that clicked everywhere he walked, let out another disappointed sigh at the boy. "It's just that someone who scored perfectly on the written exam- I just thought you would have had a more impressive Pokémon. The other trainer that scored perfectly on their exam came in here with a Tyrantrum and smoked us. You do realize your choice here is the only Pokémon you'll be allowed to bring with you when you start the circuit, right?"

Tew's green eyes widened slightly at the man's words. "Well, I guess that's one mystery solved... Anyway, I'm sticking with my best friend, Chester, no matter what!"

A Shiny Chespin belonging to Tew flexed the pointy barbs on his head and pointed at the man, giving him a thumbs down. That was his and Tew's special way of saying "You're going down!"

"Well, I'm docking you twenty points for your choice in your Pokémon and thirty more for the awful nickname it has to suffer having."

"What?!" Tew yelled. "That's so rude! You haven't even given us a chance to prove ourselves! We've been all over this world. I'm the guildmaster of The Weedles Guild! Haven't you heard of us?"

The man took a step back, baffled, as his glasses nearly fell to the ground. "Wait, you're _THE_ Tew Hyland?!"

Tew scratched the back of head in confusion. "I didn't know there so many Tew Hyland's in the world to confuse me with."

"Well that completely explains why you scored a one-hundred percent on your exam! Allow me to reset your score back to zero."

"Hold on a minute," Tew interrupted the examiner. "So just because I'm some big shot now I get treated differently?"

The examiner blushed behind his clipboard in embarrassment. "Well, you _did_ save the worl-"

Tew grew increasingly frustrated with the impossible examiner and started digging himself a hole. "You know what? No. Give me my negative fifty points. I want you to treat me _exactly_ like the 'unimpressive' kid you thought I was. In fact, I want you to go _all out _on me. Do your _worst_." And he did it. Tew Hyland was officially six feet under his own agenda as the examiner slowly nodded and guided him to the battlefield.

The two took their places on opposite ends of an old stadium just on the outskirts of the town they met in for the battle examination. Parts of the columns were falling apart and looked horribly unsteady. A decent amount of weight leaned up against them would surely cause a few to crumble.

"Champion Circuit Contestant Tew Hyland of The Weedles Guild, are you ready to begin your battle examination?"

"Yes, I am!" Tew called back to the man.

"What Pokémon will you be participating in this battle with?"

"My partner and my best friend, Chester, my Chespin!"

Chester took his spot on the field and gave the man another thumbs down as he folded his arms and smiled smugly, waiting for the chance to beat down his opponent.

"You do understand the choice you have made is the only Pokémon you will be allowed to take with you when entering the Champion Circuit, correct?"

"Yes, I am aware!" The boy smiled confidently.

The man took a Poké Ball out of his pocket and smiled devilishly at the contestant. "Then allow me to evaluate your skills against this Pokémon: Charizard!"

A large Charizard appeared on the opponent's side and roared so mightily that it shook the old walls of the coliseum.

Chester and Tew, however, weren't the slightest bit fazed. They had dealt with many type disadvantages in their travels and felt more than ready to take on their new foe.

"Ikuzo, Chester! Let's show the Hokkaido Region how people in The Weedles Guild rock n' roll!" Tew punched the air as Chespin flexed his spiky quills.

"Charizard, burn them with Flamethrower!"

The Lizard Pokémon breathed a hot blast of fire that tore down the field straight at Chester.

"Chester, dodge and use Dual Chop!"

The Spiky Nut Pokémon rolled to the side and ran around the burning hot blast, jumping up and smacking the mighty fire lizard in the face twice with arms that were imbued with the power of dragons. Surprisingly, it was enough force to push Charizard back a little bit, which seemed to make it very angry.

"We've got you!" the man smirked. "Use Wing Attack!"

A huge wing smacked Chester into the ground with enough force that it kicked up a large dust cloud, making it impossible for either trainer to see what was going on.

"Chester, grab on to Charizard's wing an-"

"Up in the air, Charizard!" the examiner intercepted.

Chester valiantly took hold of the large Pokémon's wing as it darted out of the dust cloud and high into the sky. So high, almost, that Tew could barely even see them.

"Chester, Energy Ball! Continuous onslaught! Ikuzo!"

The Spiky Nut Pokémon began charging orbs of energy with the power of nature and slammed them repeatedly into Charizard's back.

"Flare Blitz!"

"Dammit!" Tew swore as he knew he'd fallen into a trap the second Charizard had taken off into the sky.

The mighty lizard cloaked his body in terribly hot flames and crashed into the ground, Chester first. A large explosion came of it as Chester shot out of the cloud of smoke like an arrow back to his trainer's side, still standing.

"My, my," the examiner said, folding his arms, letting a small smirk escape his lips. "You two certainly are impressive. It's a wonder your Chespin is able to even stand after taking a Wing Attack _and_ a Flare Blitz at point blank range."

"We came prepared!" Tew cried as Chester flaunted his necklace with an Eviolite on the end of it.

"So you did. But let's see if you're still standing after this! Charizard, use Dragon Rush!"

"What?!" Tew's confident smirk disappeared.

Charizard summoned power from deep within him. A strange, blue energy taking form of a large dragon head engulfed his body as the head charged straight for the spiky hedgehog.

Tew scrambled to form a coherent thought as the giant dragon head opened its gaping maw, ready to swallow Chester whole. Just then, a clear idea popped into his head with barely enough time to call it out. "Iron Head!"

"What?!" the examiner yelled, baffled.

Chespin had just the perfect opportunity to charge at the gaping maw with a head made of steel. The collision of the attacks caused an explosion that could be seen from miles away. Both trainers called out the names of their Pokémon as the smoke cloud cleared to reveal Charizard standing, but Chester down on one knee.

"Good job, Chester!" Tew yelled happily.

"Incredible..." the examiner said to himself. "You know Steel-types can wall Dragon-types easily and you applied to a Steel-type move to defend yourself from what would have been the finishing blow... But you do realize that one more hit and it's all over, don't you?"

Tew's eyes narrowed as he quickly examined Charizard. While the lizard looked mighty and still ready to go from a distance, a focused look at him and he could see that he had taken a pretty hefty toll as well. His chest was puffed out and his roar was loud to distract Tew and Chester from the fact that he had taken so much damage, a faint, red aura was bleeding from his body. Which meant only one thing...

"Blaze... Your Charizard is running on fumes as well! One more hit and you're finished!"

"Gah!..." the examiner barked. "Why you... I shouldn't have expected anything less from the head guildmaster of The Weedles Guild." he chuckled under his breath. "Shall we finish this, Tew Hyland?"

"Yes, we shall, man who's name I do not know!" Tew roared.

"Then take to the sky, Charizard, and use Dragon Rush!"

The mighty lizard flew high in the sky, casting a large shadow as he channeled his inner strength and everything he had into this move.

"Chester, use Stone Edge on yourself!"

"What in the world?!" the instructor said, once again baffled by Tew's judgement.

But it seemed Chester knew exactly what to do. Sharp, jagged stones were aimed up in the air right above him and he fired them in a rhythmic fashion. He then stood perfectly still as the stone fell down around his body, throwing up a dust cloud.

At this time Charizard was ready with his Dragon Rush attack. His trainer gave the order. "Use Dragon Rush, now!"

"Now, Chester, use Energy Ball on the ground beneath you!"

Chester charged a green orb in between his hands and fired it on the ground. Immediately, he fired out of the dust cloud like a fighter jet completely covered in an rock-clad armor from his earlier Stone Edge.

"Let's finish this!" both of the trainers roared at the top of their lungs.

"Add a Flare Blitz!"

"Dual Chop, ikuzo!"

The gigantic dragon head charging straight for Chester became cloaked in a beautiful flame as it opened its mouth large and wide, ready to destroy its opponent. Chester's stone arms were imbued with the power of the dragons as he collided with the Dragon Rush Flare Blitz combo in mid-air. The resulting collision caused an outward shock so massive that both trainers had to shield themselves from incoming stray streaks of energy that shot out from the explosion.

Chester landed back on the ground, having had his ability Overgrow take effect, his body was cloaked in a green aura. He turned around to see through the smoke, the red aura surrounding Charizard's body from Blaze standing up tall. It was a critical moment as the two powerful Pokémon stared each other down. The trainers' heartbeats could be heard echoing throughout the stadium until finally, the mighty lizard fell before the tiny hedgehog. Chester could now safely pass out from exhaustion, but Tew dove to catch his partner and held him in his arms, congratulating him. It's a shame he wasn't awake to hear that he won.

The examiner returned his Charizard and thanked him for his service today. He approached the young boy and shook his hand firmly. "Young man, that was a fine battle today. You really showed me what makes a good trainer. Because while you two were decently strong, I've faced many stronger opponents than you today. But it wasn't your strength that won the battle- it was your strategy. I've _never _seen anyone use Stone Edge as armor and Energy Ball to fling themselves into the sky like you did today. How did you learn to do all of that?"

Tew smiled down at his unconscious Chespin and looked back up at the examiner. "Well, we've been to lots of places and seen lots of things. To tell you the truth, we were never really that strong to begin with and we certainly aren't even that much stronger than when I started out four years ago. But we found out that what it takes to win isn't always brute strength- it's the ability to come up with strategies that can draw out a different kind of power. That's where our true strength lies."

"Well, Tew Hyland, it is my distinct honor to award you a perfect score on your battle exam. Welcome to the Champion Circuit, kid. You're gonna do just fine here."

"Thank you, sir." Tew smiled widely with his eyes gleaming like lights on a Christmas tree, trying to hold back his bursting excitement. It was now time for him to show the world what it _really_ meant to be a Pokémon Trainer.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Story is no longer accepting OCs.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

The Champion Circuit

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 2

"Ikuzo, Chester! Use Iron Head!" Tew yelled in the heat of an intense battle.

Chester roared and charged with head as hard as steel. An opposing Rapidash bounced high out of sight and came crashing down on the hedgehog with powerful hooves. The force of the attack caused an explosion, resulting in the fainting of Tew's Pokémon as the smoke cleared.

Tew returned his fallen partner to his Poké Ball and shook hands with his opponent. "Hey, thanks for the battle! I really enjoyed it."

"Likewise." The other trainer said. He then had a curious look over the boy's shoulder and saw two suitcases laying in the spot where he stood. "Um, excuse me. You haven't checked in yet?"

The boy shook his head. "Nah, when I got to the hotel, I saw the courtyard with all of the trainers battling and I figured I had to get a piece of the action."

"You'd better get checked in then."

Tew sighed, looking out at all of the other battles around him. The urge to get back out there and take on more trainers was real, but the poor condition Chester was in after the battle was also real. "Yeah..." he sighed again. "We're in no condition to battle, so I guess I might as well."

It wasn't the fact that Tew hated checking in or had any kind of phobia against strangers; he just wanted to battle all day. Whenever he wasn't battling, training, or making up some kind of strategy, the poor kid was so restless that he'd consider provoking others to battle him.

The late afternoon rolled around and the Guildmaster of the Weedles Guild finally got around to the long, excruciating process of checking in. Sitting behind the counter was a small, pale woman with fire engine-red hair done up in the most ghastly hairdo he'd ever seen. To make matters worse, her voice was scratchy, there was a mole on her upper lip, and she literally spat with almost every word. So much, in fact, Tew had begun to think he was being played by a Ditto that knew Water Sport.

"Welcome to the Oak Palace, the best five-star hotel in the world." She spat and smiled with teeth as yellow as a Pikachu's fur.

Tew wiped globs of liquid off his shirt and cringed internally. "Th- thank you." he said, wanting to now take an hour-long shower. "I'm checking in. My name is Tew Hyland."

The lady swiveled around in a chair and placed her eyes on a clipboard, studying it. To no surprise at all, it was covered in spit. She turned back around and smiled her rotted smile again. "Ah, you're with the Champion Circuit!" her voice crackled.

Suddenly, Tew began to get the oddest feeling. As if she were stealing glances of him and giving him longing eyes of affection. "Dear Arceus, please don't be into me..."

"You know, we've gotten many of you kids here today, but none as handsome as you are." The lady said.

Tew screamed internally. "C- can I please just have my room key? I'm really tired and uh..." He quickly took out his Poké Ball and called forth his fainted friend in his arms. "My Chespin! Yeah, he's been walking around _all_ day. He's exhausted, so I need to put him down for a nap."

Chester quickly made a liar of his trainer and jumped out of his arms, appearing to be bursting with enough energy to go another battle.

"Gee, Chester! You sure are lively today, aren't you?" Tew said nervously. He leaned down to his partner and whispered in his ear. "I know _exactly_ what you're doing. You could hear everything through your Poké Ball, couldn't you?"

Chester nodded smugly as he sharpened his quills and poked his trainer in the cheek.

"Ow!" he winced. "You know what? If you don't play tired right now, I'll make you kiss her."

The hedgehog suddenly screamed in pain as he fell over with all of the wind and energy he once had escaping his body. It was truly a sight to see as other trainers were lined up behind Tew to witness the spectacle.

"Oh my Arceus Above!" Tew shrieked. "He's having a heart attack! I need to get him up to the room and give him his medication A.S.A.P.!"

The woman behind the counter fumbled giving the boy his room key. "Twelfth floor, room six-hundred and fourteen."

Tew barely even thanked her as he grabbed his two suitcases and rushed towards the stairs. The woman was able to get a fine view of his toned hindquarters that showed through his skinny jeans as he disappeared behind the door and into the stairwell.

The young boy and his Pokémon wiped the sweat and spit from them as they collapsed against the wall, taking a moment to catch their breath.

"That was literally.. the worst thing... I've ever experienced."

He and the hedgehog took a look at the winding stairs, which made Tew quickly rethink his previous statement.

"Okay, well, I think _this_ tops it all. But at least we're not being spat on." the boy said as he climbed the stairs, dragging a suitcase along with him. Chester had lurched the other one up on his back and managed to keep up with his trainer the entire way as they climbed the mountain of stairs and almost fell through the door to the twelfth floor.

They were immediately met with a blast of cold air and a soft, red carpet underneath their feet with ivory walls and cherry-red doors on each side. Tew took out his room key to reassure himself of which room he was in and enjoyed a quick stroll down the hallway.

"Ah, here we are. Room six-hundred and fourteen." He carefully slid the key into the slot and the door slowly opened. The two entered the room, closing the door behind them.

As they turned around, their eyes were opened to a large suite, complete with a living room, kitchen, dining room, and two large, master bedrooms. The two could barely believe it. Their suitcases quickly fell to the ground as Chester jumped onto the counter and began looking through the cabinets. And well wouldn't you know? Complimentary snacks that weren't going to last a day thanks to the hedgehog!

Tew threw himself on the large, red couch in the living room and sunk into a comfortable ecstasy. Well, it would have been ecstasy, had he not felt a slight nudge on his lower spine. He dug his hand underneath him in between the cushions to find something that nearly made him shriek like a small school girl. Speaking of small school girls, he found _panties_. Pink, frilly panties with flower-y laces on the edges. The woman undergarments went soaring across the room.

And that's when it happened.

A young girl was right in the path of the undergarments. She caught them and nearly shrieked herself. "Oh my goodness! I'm _so_ sorry! I never usually leave stuff around like that. It must have fallen out of my suitcase while I was unpacking..."

However, as Tew's bright green eyes noticed the young girl, he began to see something else. No longer was there a girl standing in the living room holding a fresh pair of her underwear, but something far more beautiful than he had ever seen in his entire life. Her long, strawberry blonde hair that fell down to her waist flowed with the gentleness of a calm river. The bangs of the well-groomed hair were brushed to the side so his heart could melt with her deep, gray eyes. The color usually represented emptiness, but as he looked inside of her eyes, he felt _everything. _Her skin was unlike anything he'd seen before. It was so silk, smooth, and white that he could picture himself diving into a pool of cream if he hugged her.

And her body... oh _man_, her body. She was very slender with wide hips that were just all-too captivating. They were covered by a dark, sleeveless blouse over a knee-length skirt, accompanied by women's flats. From her adorable ears fell star earrings that could send Tew into space if she looked at him just the right way. And the best part of it all?

That smile. That adorable, amazing, too-good, wait-a-minute-Tew-is-gay smile. And that's when it hit him. His homosexuality screamed at him. A smaller version of Tew with pink angel wings appeared on his right shoulder.

"Um, exc-uuuuse me?" the angelic Tew said as he snapped his finger. "Boy, I know you didn't just get wet over a _girl_, did you?!"

Just at that moment, a filthy, jersey-wearing version of Tew with Dorito dust all over the sides of his mouth and black, devil wings appeared on his left shoulder. "Whoa there, princess." the disgusting Tew said over to the angelic one. "He's got a right to. I mean... look at her! She's hot!"

"Don't make me come over there and slap you." angelic Tew said. "Do you realize that literally ninety-seven percent of this child's thoughts are of bones?"

The devil Tew laughed and pointed over at the girl. "Yeah, and I think we just found the three percent, if you know what I mean." He winked and nudged Tew on his shoulder.

"Are you serious?!" the angelic Tew placed her- I mean, _his_ hands on his hips and rolled his neck. "The other three percent is battling, eating, sleeping, and pooping for Arceus's sake!"

Tew's internal screaming caused the two miniatures of him to disappear.

"Um..." the girl said as she stood awkwardly, holding her garments behind her back. "P- please don't be freaked out. I'm so sorry."

Chester looked over from the cabinets and fell down to the floor in shock, bringing a box of crackers with him. He walked over to the girl and looked up at her.

"Oh!" the girl looked down and smiled. "Is this your Chespin? He's so cute!" she reached down to pet him, but was met with a sharpened quill that poked her in the finger. The girl quickly pulled away, blowing on it. "Ouch... I guess you don't like to be touched."

Chester _accidentally_ stole a peak underneath the girl's skirt. What he saw under there shocked him. He screamed so loudly that it brought Tew back to reality.

"Whoa! Chester, what's the problem?!" Tew yelled. His Pokémon tackled him and quickly relayed the horrible news in his trainer's ear. "Wh-" the boy's jaw nearly dropped. "Chester, that's so rude!"

The girl tilted her head in confusion. "What did he say?"

"I'm so sorry, but my stupid partner just looked up your skirt and he's saying mean things." Tew blushed.

"What's he saying?"

"I'd really rather not repeat it."

"Aw, why not?"

"It's pretty offensive."

"Please, I can take it. I'm just curious."

"Well..." Tew blushed even more and avoided eye contact by looking at the ground. "He said you had a... he, um..."

"Yes?" the girl folded her arms with a smile.

"It's just that he said you had... a um, thing where..."

"Did a Meowth get your tongue?"

"What? No, it's just he said you had a... you know."

"No, I don't." the girl tried to hold back her laughter.

Tew quickly became flustered as he felt he was being forced to say his favorite word in the English language. "Oh come on... you know... that um, thing."

"Can you show me what he's talking about?"

"WHAT?!" Tew shrieked, now feeling the need to cover his bulging mistake from his pants. "I- what?! I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. What?"

"Just show me what he's taking about." the girl smiled innocently.

"I'm not going to do that!"

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm not just gonna show some random girl my penis!"

"Why is that? I thought guys usually liked girls."

"N- not this one! I'm gay! I like boys!"

"Well..." the girl smiled and held her pristine hand over her lips that were ready to burst with laughter. "Good thing I'm not a girl."

Critical hit! Tew fainted!


	3. Chapter 3

The Champion Circuit

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 3

The unidentified boy and Chester used Wake-Up Slap!

Tew woke up! "Augh!" He screamed loudly as he felt the stinging urge to hold his cheek with his hands.

"Hey, he woke up!" the boy exclaimed happily as he plopped down on the red bed next to him. "Man, you were out for a little bit."

"Ah!" Tew screamed once again, backing away from the young boy.. or girl, was it? In his fright, he'd completely forgotten just what gender the person was that next to him. He moved back so far that he fell off the other edge of the bed.

The apparent boy dressed in women's clothing stood up and placed his small, cute hand over his adorable lips, hiding a giggle. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes!" Tew proclaimed. "Y- you're a guy! Or so you say you are! But you're dressed like a girl!"

"Do you need proof? Because I-"

"NO!" The dark blonde-haired boy yelled, shaking his head furiously. "As much as I love, well... you know, that won't be necessary. I'll take yours and Chester's word for it."

The young feminine boy could see that Tew was obviously confused and creeped out, evident by his fast beating heart trying to break out of his chest. He let out a small sigh and smiled, sitting back down on the bed. "Maybe we got off on an awkward start." he giggled.

Tew stood, back against the wall as the boy patted the spot next to him on the bed. No way in Hell was he gonna go back over there and sit with him/her. Who knows what else him/her could be hiding? Maybe he could have been some kind of serial killer that only dresses that way to hide all of their knives and weapons within the outfit. Or even worse... a vegetarian. "Uhm, thanks, but I think I'm gonna go in the bathroom and question my sexuality for a few hours."

"Well, can I at least know your name? I'm Sasha. Sasha Lovell." the boy introduced himself.

"Erm... okay. H- hi. I'm Tew Hyland." Tew made an effort to extend his hand out to at least shake his roommate's hand to show that he wasn't _totally_ freaked out by her. I mean, him. "Man, even the narrator can't get this guy's gender right..." he thought to himself.

Sasha quickly smiled and pounced at Tew, wrapping his arms around the boy and squeezing him tight for a hug. "I _much_ prefer hugs over handsha-" it was at that moment he stopped in the middle of his sentence. Some kind of odd, hard object was poking him in his lower stomach. It felt vaguely familiar, like the body of a medium-sized snake. Although this was the world of Pokémon and the concept of something as other-worldly as a 'snake' was lost to them, it was the first word that popped into the boy's head.

Tew prayed to Arceus that Sasha would pull away soon. But Giratina must have heard him instead because the boy only pressed their bodies even closer together.

"Hey, do you feel that?" Sasha asked.

Tew's mouth was practically wired shut with embarrassment. When it did open, he stuttered like a small child's teeth chattering who stood out in the middle of a harsh snow storm with nothing on. "F-f-f-f-f-f feel what?"

The cross dresser raised an eyebrow and guided her hand in between the two and down the boy's body until he managed to grab hold of the rock-hard entity that jabbed him in his stomach. "Something really hard is poking me..."

Tew immediately pushed the boy off of him and disappeared behind the door of the bathroom. His heart raced so fast that he thought he would for sure have a heart attack and his face was so red that he could have pulled off a Flamethrower. "Arceus Above, this is just insane." He quickly rushed over to the sink, turned the faucet on, and repeatedly slashed cold water in his face. "Come on, man. Get it together." he chanted to himself over and over again as the water refreshed him and cooled off his face. "You're a Guildmaster for Palkia's sake. Just calm down. Its only a girl. No, wait, its a guy in girl's clothing. So its a guy."

Suddenly, an excess build up of water in the boy's body caused him to cross his legs. He looked over to hear the toilet calling his name. "Well, I _do_ have to go..." Tew approached the toilet and unzipped his pants as any man would, preparing to drain the ol' Kecleon. However, a problem perplexed him as his Kecleon had taken the shape of a stiffy, which made it impossible for anything to happen. "Oh you have got to be (the FCC was here) kidding me." he swore under his breath.

Just at that second, the door to the bathroom flew open with Sasha on the other side, looking right at Tew and his Kecleon. "AHA! I KNEW IT!" he said, pointing at his roommate's embarrassment.

"OH MY ARCEUS AND DIALGA, WHAT IN THE DISTORTION WORLD ARE YOU DOING?!" Tew cried at the top of his lungs. Right as his lizard was about to settle down, it stood right back up at attention upon seeing the beautiful boy.

"I knew you were attracted to me!" Sasha proclaimed.

"Don't you have any idea what personal space is?!" Tew tried to zip himself up to hide, but managed to snag himself in the zipper and fell over in excruciating pain. Sasha rushed over to his side only for him to swat him away. He'd already suffered enough embarrassment today and he didn't need his new roommate trying to help him free himself. Although... he was caught pretty good and Chester was conveniently nowhere to be seen. "I don't need your help. I'm fine." he snarked.

The young boy raised an eyebrow and looked down at the situation. "I don't think you're fine. If you stay like this any longer, you're gonna start bleeding soon. You _have_ to let me help."

Much to Tew's embarrassment, he knew that he'd _never_ gotten caught in his zipper like this before. So he did what any man would do- stop perpetuating the gender stereotype and allow his roommate to help him. If anything, he should have been happy that Sasha even offered to lend a hand. He did have this thing where he enjoyed being touched by guys.

Nurse Sasha triumphed. His roommate's lizard was finally free of the predicament and safely tucked away in his trousers. However, there was now another situation at hand... Sasha and Tew's faces were dangerously close to each other with their lips lined up. An awkward moment had turned into an ever more awkward moment as both boys laid there, thinking the _exact_ same thing.

"Arceus Above, his lips look so good..."

Of all the times for it to happen, Chester ran in and pounced on his trainer's stomach. _Now_ he decided to reappear. It almost made Tew think that his Pokémon had done it on purpose. He'd have to have a talk with him later about it.

"Er... thanks for uh, helping me out." Tew said as Sasha helped him to his feet.

"Oh, it wasn't a problem." He smiled happily.

But the two just stood there, staring at each other again. The situation between the two was still surprisingly awkward.

Then it hit the Guildmaster. He had the _perfect_ idea to break the ice. "Hey, I've got this stuff. It's called Mega Seed Bomb."

Sasha's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Wait, do you mean like the Pokémon move? … Wait, there's a move called Mega Seed Bomb?"

Tew giggled at the boy's reaction and shook his head. "Nooo," he smiled. "Its completely different... Here, I'll show you. Trust me, you're gonna have a lot of fun."

**. . .**

Tew opened up a window and allowed the smoke to escape from the master bedroom. Sasha was relaxing on the bed, giggling uncontrollably as he looked up at the ceiling. The Guildmaster sat down next to him and focused his eyes on the ceiling as well.

"I don't get it. What's so funny about the ceiling?" he asked.

Trying desperately to talk through his giggling, Sasha managed to explain himself. "Just look at it. It's so white, like snow. What if it _is_ snow?"

"No, wait!" Tew hushed the boy. "Sssh. Hear that?"

Sasha calmed himself momentarily and perked his ears up. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear a single thing. At least not what his roommate could hear. "I don't hear anything."

"Dude, I do." Tew giggled. "It's the sound of you geeking out."

Sasha broke into uncontrollable laughter, which made Tew break into the same bout of laughter as well. "Oh my Arceus. This is like, just so great. I feel so good."

"Glad to see you're enjoying it." Tew smiled. He then felt a wave of sadness crash over his good-time feeling and sighed. "Hey, Sasha?"

"Hm?" the boy turned over to his roommate to see that his giggling smile had disappeared and grew immediately concerned. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm really sorry about how I reacted to you earlier today. It's just... when I thought you were a girl, I- I started to..."

"Hey..." Sasha said softly, smiling at him. "It's okay! Really, it is. You're by far one of the best reactions I've ever gotten."

"One of the best?" Tew sat up, confused as he looked over at Sasha's giggling face. "What do you mean? Do you dress up in girl's clothing just to see how people react?"

"Pfft." Sasha scoffed. "No way. I love cross dressing. I've done it ever since I was a little kid for as long as I can remember."

Tew plopped back down on the bed and thought to himself for a second. "What do your parents have to say about it?"

"You know, funnily enough, they're the ones that introduced it to me."

"What? Really?" the boy immediately sat back up and looked at him.

Sasha giggled slightly, looking over at Tew's shocked face, complete with mouth agape and eyebrows raised. The only thing extra were his redened eyes, but the same was happening to him as well. "Technically, my sister was the one who came up with the idea. But I didn't hear any complaints from my parents, so I just went with it. Now they've got two little girls."

"Hah!" Tew broke out into another bout of laughter. "I definitely wouldn't call you little."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, back when we were hugging... let's just say we _both_ enjoy looking at each other." Tew winked, which was a surprising contrast to how embarrassed he would have been earlier at the mention of anything like that. It was officially safe to say that the ice was broken and Mega Seed Bomb was some good- well, you get the idea.

Sasha giggled nervously and avoided eye contact with the boy. "Erm.. thank you." he tried to hide his smile.

"Hey, I got an idea." Tew said, trying to hold back even more random laughter. "You hungry?"

"Oh my Arceus I thought you'd never ask. I feel like I could eat a whole Snorlax right now." Sasha exclaimed as he fell back onto the bed, rubbing his hands on his flat stomach with it growling up a storm.

Tew got up and took his aqua-blue cardigan sweater off, revealing a plain, gray t-shirt. "Then let's go get some food."

"Are you sure its okay to go out like this?" Sasha asked as he stood up.

"Yeah!" Tew nodded. "Don't worry. I've done this before. If anybody asks, we just got done swimming. Alright?"

Sasha shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "As long as we just get some food... I'm starving."


	4. Chapter 4

The Champion Circuit

Pretzels

Chapter 4

"I've always wondered how the high living got their wealth." Tew contemplated with all of his mental strength as he and Sasha wandered the night streets of the city.

Sasha reached up and stretched his arms out. "This weed is so weird." he said, smiling uncontrollably.

"No," Tew said with a cheesy smile and nudging his friend, adding a few winks. You mean this weed is so _great_."

The young boy placed his hands on his cheeks in shock and gasped loudly. He looked over at his older friend and stopped him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and talking into his chest. "I feel like I'm talking this too fast." Then he hugged Tew and nuzzled his head in the boy's pectorals. "Arceus Above, you're so warm."

"Ssssshhh..." Tew patted the young boy's back and held him. "I know. This is the most powerful effect of Seed Bomb. I feel like I'm looking at everything backwards right now."

"No I'm looking backwards." Sasha said as he pulled away and gave his friend a confused look on his face. "It feels weird."

"This is some bomb stuff." Tew giggled. He was certainly geeking out on something. Most likely on the fact that he was so high. This Jubilife City theme in Pokémon X & Y is just fantastic. Sorry, I'm a little blitzed out of my skull while I'm writing this.

"I wanna go to the Chinese place?" Tew said in though.

Sasha's ears twitched and perked up at the unusual suggestion from his roommate. "What's Chinese?"

They have no concept of Chinese because Pokémon. Or at least that's what was going through my head while I wrote the dialogue for this. I seriously got really high and just wrote all of the dialogue for this chapter. It was amazing.

"We'll eat all of their noodles!" Tew proclaimed as he pointed his fist to the sky in a heroic pose.

"Mwahahahahahaha!" Sasha laughed evilly. God why does that word have two L's? It's so weird.

Tew pulled the collar of his shirt up over his face to imitate the feeling of a hero costume. "The Noodle Busters!" he punched the air valiantly as if he were fighting off evil.

Sasha took two sticks of the ground and held them in his hands like chopsticks. "Here to take all of your noodles!" Sweet baby Jesus I don't mean to interrupt this story, but I just switched from the Jubilife City theme to the Anistar City theme. This is so ethereal.

"To string-ishly string our noodles to all!" Tew spun around on the sidewalk.

"And the hero aptly said, ITS NOODLE-THIRTY AS IN THE TIME! I think that's how the motto goes." Sasha smiled. Many people were staring at them, but mostly for a quick second as they were in the big city, so everyone was just sort of too busy to care that much. A few thought how the two kids were acting was funny and decided to watch for a little longer than most. I think that makes them pedophiles though because they're basically watching two young twinks, one barely legal and the other jail bait, just parade around the town as high as a Drifblim.

"Oh Sasha you're being so stupid right now but its okay because you're so totally hot." Tew said as the muscles in his face relax. Had he ever said that while not under the influence... well, he never would have said that.

"I've never had my first kiss." Chances are Sasha would have never said that either.

Tew laughed to himself a little. "Haha, me neither."

"Whoa, really?" Sasha's eyes widened with shock.

"Is that of surprise to you?" Tew spoke with an English accent, similar to the manner of speaking on Asgard. "You think me strange, my dear? I'll _**Mjölnir**_ you.

"N- no, I just..." Sasha blushed an insane amount of red. "Wait a minute, that's a hammer. You can't hammer someone. Tew, you're so weird."

The Guildmaster, however, found himself only being able to focus on the first part of his roommate's sentence. "Just what?"

"Didn't know I was going to be your first..." Sasha smiled slightly.

Suddenly, the weed began to hit Tew pretty hard. "Hang on a minute, I have to focus on not dying for a few. I feel it in my skull."

Sasha's soft, wonderful hands flew up onto his roommate's face. He suddenly felt the pressure in his skull fade away as all he could do was look into the trap's gorgeous, gray eyes. "Let me help." he whispered as he rose up on his toes and leaned in, mouth first to the older boy. Their lips connected and the word around them washed away, as if nothing else mattered except this moment in time. What a time it was for the two to be alive as they held the kiss for so long, one of them felt like they were about to pass out. But it was so magical that neither wanted to pull away. Their hands grabbed each other and pulled their bodies even closer as Tew slipped his tongue into the young boy's mouth. It was like ecstasy. Fireworks of warm feelings shot up their nerves as Tew lightly stroked the boy's face with his hand.

Ladies and gentlemen: I present to you, Tew and Sasha's first kiss.

**. . .**

Man, did it take some walking for the two, but they finally found a place that sold noodles: Joe's Noodle Shack and Drink Emporium. Apparently, it was famous for its noodles and drinks. Go figure.

Tew and Sasha sat down in a booth of the shack, only they both sat on the same side instead of the socially accepted person in front of person. But they thought it was okay because they were high and they just wanted to hold hands while they eat.

"Hey, Sasha?" Tew giggled again.

Sasha rose up from resting his head on the boy's shoulder. "Yeah?"

"I often feel I've been intoxicated before. Not like, drunk, but just... I don't know. Something. Like, smitten, basically. But that was just a feeling I had. I could never actually say it was true or anything because I wasn't actually _feeling_ it, y'know? Nothing like an "I'm really feeling it!" sort of thing, but just me thinking that I was feeling it."

Sasha could barely keep up with the boy's rambling. "Yeah, uh-huh." he just nodded politely.

Tew sat back and wrapped an arm around his roommate. "I guess what I'm saying is that I just kind of... have this school girl crush on you. Despite the fact that I've only known you for like, a few hours."

"Ssshhh." Sasha put a finger up on the boy's lips to hush him. "That's totally fine. Because I like you too. I think you're cute, funny, and your face is very nice."

"R- really?" the Guildmaster blushed.

"Mhmm." Sasha nodded. "But hey, um... I'm not looking for a relationship right now, y'know?"

Tew's heart began to slowly sink into an abyss of depression, but he held back the tears and listened to what the boy had to say rather than just jump to a conclusion. Although he was pretty much right in his jumping to begin with. He was being friend zoned.

"Please, don't think I'm friend zoning you." Sasha pleaded. His heart began to race slightly at the fear of offending him. "I just... It's just I don't want one right now, you know?"

Tew slowly nodded his head. Sasha could see that he was noticeably upset with the quivering of his lip and welling of tears in his eyes.

"Nooooo, please, Tew. Don't be upset. I'm so sorry. It's just I don't think I have time for one right now. I'm still traveling. And so are you. So when would we ever see each other? It'd be long distance. And I'd hate myself if I ever had to put you through something like that."

Tew sighed quietly. He knew the boy had a point, but he was still upset. "It's okay." he sniffed. "I knew I was expecting too much and moving too fast anyway. I'm fine, don't worry. Just as long as I can be here with you right now, I'm fine." he cracked a smile and the two shared a kiss again.

The waiter returned and sat multiple plates of noodles down on the table in front of them. "Please, enjoy." he smiled. As he walked away, both Tew and Sasha quickly turned to each other, thinking the exact same thing. Knowing that they were thinking the exact same thing, both of them broke out into uncontrollable laughter.

Between the two kids, the general consensus was that "Man, that waiter is so hot."

**. . .**

"I object!" Tew screamed at the top of his lungs from the defendant table.

"On what grounds?" The judge asked him.

Tew raised an eyebrow and looked at the judge. "I don't know what object means, your holiness."

"Don't flatter me." The judge scoffed.

"I thought we were supposed to?" Sasha sat up in confusion.

"Supposed to what?" Tew looked down at him. Then looked back up at the judge and realized what a large man he appeared to be. He even had the white, powdered wig and everything. "Damn, you look as fat as a Snorlax, your cheesiness."

"Is he high right now?" The judge groaned.

"Your honor," the plaintiff, Joe Cardiff, owner of Joe's Noodle Shack and Drink Emporium, stood up and pointed in a very disgraceful tone toward the two boys. "Both of these children are baked out of their skulls." He then sat back down and folded his arms, pouting like a little kid. "God I'm so jealous." Joe thought to himself.

"We have a world created for jealousy." Tew stood up, placing his hand over his heart like the scout's salute in Attack on Titan.

Sasha leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out with a big smile. "Yeah, its called jealous-y!"

The Guildmaster turned around to the crowd of people behind him there to watch the court case. Apparently a few people were so intrigued by them, that they followed them around. "Come be with us..." he whispered to everyone as he extended his hand out to them. "Just take my hand, children.

"One of us." Sasha chanted.

Tew suddenly turned back around and pointed at the judge with a malicious intent to battle in his eyes. "Chester, Missile Bari!"

"What are you doing?" Sasha asked as he stood up to hug the boy. "This isn't a battle."

The judge, having heard enough of the two's under-the-influence rambling, he banged his gavel to reclaim attention in the room. "You two are here because you both ate seven-hundred dollars worth of noodles at Joe's Noodle Establishment and Drink Emporium."

"God these pretzels feel like they're filled with so much honor." Tew said as he shared a bag of pretzels with his roommate.

Sasha closed his eyes and nodded his head in agreement. "They must be a very honor community."

"My teeth feel like honor when I chew them oh yissssss!" Tew started dancing in his seat. "Can someone teach me how to Douggie?" He then quickly changed gears and looked up at the judge with a very serious look on his face. "Your honor, we may be on some dank stuff right now but I could so beat you in a battle. One Iron Head and you're done, you pathetic person, you."

"Oh my god Tew these pretzels taste so good." Sasha said as he stuffed multiple pretzels in his mouth with relative ease.

"Oh my Arceus, you can fit all of those in your mouth?" Tew watched him.

"Yeah."

Tew quickly grabbed Sasha's hands and looked deeply into his eyes. "Sasha, we need to go back to the hotel."

"What? Why?" Sasha said as he scarfed down more pretzels.

"Because..." Tew leaned in a locked lips with his roommate, sharing a long, blissful kiss. "That's why."

"Oh...

"YOUR HONOR!" Joe rose from his seat like the second coming of Jesus. "THE PLANTIFFS OR DEFENDANTS OR WHATEVER ARE KISSING EACH OTHER."

"ORDER IN THE COURT" The judge banged his gavel harshly on the desk.

"Your honor if I beat you in a battle we get off free." Tew said.

"How come when babies are born from the womb after being nine-months in there they aren't nine months old?" Sasha pondered.

"Dude you're so high right now." Tew giggled. "These pretzels have so much honor THAT I CALL FROM THE GOD'S ABOVE TO SMIE THEE." Tew's love for pretzels really made the crowd laugh so hard that their sides began to hurt. "I'm sorry, your honor, I can't battle you while I'm this high. But I do object."

"On what grounds?"

"The person suing me is a little bitch." The boy accused.

Sasha spent the next fifty seconds laughing to himself at a sudden realization that he just had. "Arceus Above, I just really want to have sex with Tew right now. Wait, pfft. No I don't. I just wanna kiss him." He then laughed at himself again for he yet again experienced another revelation. "That's such a lie."

"I bet my ass could squish a watermelon right now. Hey, Sasha, come look at my butt!" Tew said as he plopped down on a watermelon.

"Is he seriously asking me to look at his butt? This can't be happening."

"God this feels like something out of a school girl anime." Tew said as he was reminded of tentacle monsters and lasers for some odd reason.

"Your honor, the defendant is getting freaky." Sasha said as he began dancing around Joe.

"I'm not the defendant, I'm the plaintiff." Tew said. Sasha then realized he was dancing around Tew and not Joe.

"What? No you aren't. Dude you came in here WITH me." Sasha said.

"Oh right. Aw man I'm sorry. Let's hug it out." The two embraced each other in a hug and held one another tightly.

"I want more noodles. Please." Sasha whispered seductively in Tew's ear.

"Dude those noodles were so good." Tew screamed at the top of his lungs. "If those noodles were a sexy guy, I would whack it to them from the magazine I'd be reading."

Sasha playfully hit his boy toy on the chest. "Nooooo you can't say that in this story. Gotta keep it Kosher."

"Sasha, do you even know what you're talking about?"

"I think I'm so faded that I'm in a different world." Sasha then fell over and rolled around on the floor in ecstasy.

"Oh cool. Bring me back some Ebola." Tew yelled as if Sasha were taking off in a car.

The young boy stopped rolling and focused his eyes on the ceiling. "You ever notice how much clouds look like clouds?"

"Pirates of the seven seas, unite!" Tew said as he jumped up on the table and held an imaginary sword up the air.

Sasha imitated awesome explosions happening in the back of him. Similar to what you'd see in a movie trailer. "Boom blam!"

"I can feel the weed in my skull." Tew complained. "Your honor, can I just battle you? I scored perfectly on both tests and I can show you that I'm more than able to perform under the influence."

"Arceus Above I bet he could perform so good in bed..." Sasha thought to himself. "Hey, roomie, can you make this quick? I wanna get back to the hotel. I'm really uh... tired. Yeah." He said as he quickly crossed his legs and rubbed his thighs.

"Oh my Arceus, your honor. Please just let me battle you. Right now. Hurry." Tew said as his face turned beet red with an embarrassing blush.

"Do you really mean to challenge the judge to a battle, young man?" The bailiff asked.

"Pfft." Tew scoffed. "I'll battle him under the table no matter how high I am."

Just at that second, the judge stood up with his large body and began to exude steam like a machine. A light then shined through what looked to be a split down the middle of the judge's body. It opened up, like a coffin, to reveal a slender man stepping out of it. As he inched out of the steam, he turned a red baseball cap backwards and took a Poké Ball out of his pocket. Almost in the span of thirty seconds the judge went from a really large man to what looked like a figure that everyone knew.

"The honorable Judge Red presiding for battle." The bailiff announced.

"Let's go," the judge said. "You and your friend here against me. If you can truly show that you deserve to stay here despite what you did through a battle with me, I'll expunge the case from your records and pay the fine off myself. Besides, it isn't every day that I get to battle with someone who scored perfectly on their exam." Red walked out and led everyone to a stadium elsewhere in the building. Everyone, including Joe took a seat in the stands while the legendary Pokémon Trainer stood, facing the two boys who were overwhelmed with confusion.

"This may not be too good..." Tew whispered to his roommate as they both grabbed each others hands out of fear.

Sasha suddenly snapped out of his fear and squeezed his partner's hand. "Ssshhh. Don't worry. We can do this."

The Guildmaster gulped as he looked at his opponent from across the field. "This is going to be one heck of a battle..."


	5. Chapter 5

The Champion Circuit

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 5

"Ikuzo, Chester!" Tew yelled as he called forth his best friend for a battle that he was sure would be one of the hardest in his life.

"Here's my choice! Go, Morgan!" Sasha threw a Poké Ball and an Audino appeared on the field by Chester's side.

"Ah," Tew smiled. "So your Pokémon is an Audino. Nice choice!"

Red looked down at whelps challenging him and smirked. "These two... This should be a fun battle. Come on out, Pika and Vee!" A Pikachu and Espeon broke out of the Poké Balls and took their places on the field. Their eyes, much like their trainer's, were burning with the intent to crush their opponents in battle. It was enough to scare Tew, despite everything he had been through up until that point. Saving the world, almost dying a handful of times- for some reason none of it compared to the God of Pokémon Battling that stood before him. But Sasha's optimism gave him reassurance and strength that maybe they had a chance.

The battle begun with the two kids making their moves.

"We have to work together, Sasha! Chester, Double Chop!"

"Right! Morgan, use Knock Off!"

Chester and Morgan charged down the field for a head on attack. Pika dashed out in front of Vee and slapped Chester away with his tail. Morgan stopped and looked back in shock as the force made Chester fly all the way into the wall. Vee then took the opportunity to capture the Hearing Pokémon in a field of psychic energy, rendering her incapable of movement.

"Ah!" Sasha yelled in shock. "Morgan, you use Psychic, too!"

Morgan and Vee now had each other trapped in psychic fields of energy, both at each others will. They were at a complete stand-still with Pika charging at Morgan. He had his tail as solid as iron raised high in the air, ready to strike her.

Tew looked back at Chester who struggled to get up. "Chester, can you still fight?"

The little hedgehog stood up and roared loudly.

"Good! Use Energy Ball on Pikachu!"

Chester charged a ball of energy imbued with the power of nature in between his hands and fired it, scoring a hit in Pikachu's body and sending it flying into the air.

"Now, after Vee with a Double Chop!"

The Spiky Nut Pokémon tore down the field and had his arms ready to strike at the purple Pokémon. Suddenly, a large jolt of electricity descended from the sky. Chester back flipped out of the way and looked up to see Pikachu falling toward him with his fist out, ready to hit him with a Brick Break.

"Kawarawari!"

Chester threw his arm up just in time and the two punches collided. He managed to overpower the electrical rodent and threw him at Vee. Red's Pokémon smacked into each other, causing his Espeon to lose the psychic hold he had over Sasha's Audino.

"Perfect! Now, use Dazzling Gleam!" Sasha smiled.

Audino fired a large blast that was so bright, everyone had to shield their eyes. Pika and Vee opened their eyes just in time to get a glimpse of the beam before it blew them away.

"Volt Tackle!" Red roared.

"Iron Head!" Tew roared equally as loud.

Pikachu dashed out of the cloud of smoke like a bullet with his body shrouded in electricity, connecting with Chester in the middle of the field with a head as hard as steel. The force of the two attacks caused a large explosion, but the two dashed out of the dust cloud on opposite ends and fired Energy Balls and Electro Balls at each other. As dodged one another's attacks, they fired their own, causing many attacks to be stray and collide with walls and other objects.

"Morgan, help Chester out with Dazzling Gleam!"

"Zap Cannon!" Red ordered.

Morgan was ready to fire another bright blast at them, but Vee appeared out of nowhere and fired a cannon ball with thousands of volts of electricity harnessed inside of it right into her stomach. The explosion was massive and distracted Chester, causing him to lose the game of dodge ball he played with Pika and get smacked with three Electro Balls.

Both of the boys' Pokémon flew back to their feet. They looked at each other and instantly knew what the other was thinking.

"We're on our last leg. It's time to finish this." They both said.

Chester proved their statement to be fact by standing up and having his body explode with green energy. Deep down inside, his energy hidden within him expanded outward, giving him a second wind before the end. He kicked into overdrive and activated Overgrow.

Sasha stood with his head held down and eyes closed as he gripped a heart-shaped necklace. A small glimmer of light shined in between his fingers as he looked up and ripped it from his neck, holding it high into the air. "From my heart to yours!" His body began to envelop itself in a pink aura, as did Morgan's as strands of energy shot out from their bodies and connected with each other. "Keystone, hear my plea! Audino, Mega Evolve!"

Morgan's body began to glow pure white as she shifted and changed shape before everyone's eyes. Her body became larger, changing color from pink to white. She was soon covered in what appeared to be a flared lab coat. Two feelers shot out from underneath a small tuft of fur that took form on her chest. She roared and pushed the energy off her body, revealing herself to have successfully Mega Evolved.

"Let's finish this!" all three of the trainers yelled with their fists out in front of them.

"Kawarawari!"

"Return!"

"Volt Tackle and Giga Impact!"

All four Pokémon charged with all of their might and then some. Everything collided in the center and erupted the entire battlefield, sending streaks of energy and rocks everywhere. However, it was completely understandable that once the smoke cleared, Tew and Sasha emerged as the losers while Red's Pokémon still stood on their feet, out of breath, but looking like they were able to go another round with someone else.

Tew and Sasha returned their Pokémon and hugged each other tightly, hiding their sad faces from one another.

"I guess this means we're going to have to go home..." Tew sighed as he held onto his roommate for dear life, afraid the bailiff would rip them apart. And he was pretty afraid that he would float to the depths of the cold sea while Sasha sat there, floating on the back of a picture frame. He was still pretty baked.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Red said as he approached the two smitten boys.

Tew and Sasha looked up, still holding each other, to see the judge tearing up the bill in his hands. They both squealed with delight and jumped up and down like little kids.

"Despite the fact that you two are baked out of your skulls, you guys still pulled off a pretty impressive battle. And Tew, I can definitely see how you scored perfectly on both tests. You carried the battle and your girlfriend very well."

"B- boyfriend?" Tew gulped. "Er.. uh... we're not together or anything. Nooooo."

"Really?" Red smiled, pointing at the boys' arms. They were still holding onto each other so close it was as if they were slow dancing. "You guys could've fooled me. You two make a pretty cute couple."

"EXCUSE ME I AM A BOY AND I HAVE A VERY LARGE PENIS. HOW DARE YOU." Sasha proclaimed.

"Er.. sorry," Tew said, quickly covering his roommate's mouth. "He's just a little tired from the battling and the weed. I think I'm gonna get him back to our room." He allowed Sasha to climb up onto his back for a ride back to the hotel.

"Well, at any rate, you two are good together. I hope you don't get separated too far from one another once the competition starts."

"Separated?" Tew said as he was in the act of leaving the stadium, but stopped and turned back to the man.

Red nodded and folded his arms. "Yeah. To prevent crowding at the first gym, each trainer is teleported to a completely random spot in the region at the beginning of the competition."

Tew stopped and thought for a second. The thought never occurred to him that they would be separated from one another. "Thank you for telling me. Now I know."

With that, the Guildmaster hiked all the way back to the apartment with his roommate on his back, sleeping and mumbling things all the while. Upon their return, both of them dived onto the bed and that was the end of that.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Credit to Black Lightning Kaiju for their OC, Damien Stein!**

* * *

><p>The Champion Circuit<p>

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 6

In the days that followed up to the end of the week, Tew and Sasha spent as much time together as they could. From just cuddling on the couch and watching movies on the complimentary Netflix, to training their hearts out.

One day during training, however, a fire awoke in Sasha the likes that no one had ever seen before. It was just a regular day of him and Tew training, until Tew took notice of something. That's when he started pushing him.

"You know, Sasha.." Tew said as he relaxed his body for a brief second. Chester had just returned to his side after finally pulling off a successful Iron Tail, a move they had been working on to replace Iron Head since they figured the secondary effect of lowering Defense from Iron Tail would come in more handy during the competition that just a flinch from Iron Head. "I've noticed something about you. You don't seem that in to battling."

Sasha watched as Morgan, his Audino, was pushed back by the attack and then answered the boy. "Well, that's because I'm not. I mean, I like it, but I don't live for it like you and Chester do. Morgan doesn't either."

"How can you be so sure?" the older boy questioned. "It seems your Audino has grown to like fighting more a little bit."

Sasha folded his arms. "Really? You think you know the Pokémon I've been with for years better than me?" he chuckled slightly.

Tew let out a small sigh. "No, it isn't that. I've just seen some changes in Audino. I think she's startling to like battling more and more."

"Well, you know, Tew, I'm sorry to say that I don't live for battling as you do. I'm more of a contest and performer guy, if you haven't noticed."

The boy could sense his roommate was growing more offended. Sasha's fists were balled up and his teeth were grinding together. Something Tew had _never_ seen his friend do. So being the smarty pants our young hero is, he decided to push Sasha. He knelt down next to Chester and whispered "Just roll with me on this, m'kay, bud? We're gonna light a fire in Sasha."

Tew stood back up to address his opponent in a more deep and serious tone. "Why don't you want to face the fact that Audino may like battling?"

At that second, Chester went in unannounced and smacked an Energy Ball point blank in Morgan's face.

"Of course I want to face it!" Sasha said sternly. "I'm facing it right now by battling you! Morgan, use Return!"

"Block it and use Iron Tail." Tew folded his arms.

Chester sharpened the quills on his head as Morgan went in for a punch, but was stuck with the sharp, prickly end and then quickly thwacked back with a tail as hard as steel.

"Come on, Sasha." Tew groaned loudly. "You're not facing anything! What's the matter with battling?"

"There's nothing wrong with it!" Sasha had now transitioned from a raised voice to an all-out yell. "Morgan, use Knock Off!"

"Counter with Dual Chop."

As Morgan charged at the little hedgehog and raised her arm up to smack him and knock his Eviolite along with it, Chester jumped up and slapped Morgan twice in the face with arms imbued wit the might of a dragon. She flew back from the force of the hits and fell to a knee, growling intensely at her opponent.

"Your Pokémon has obviously wanted to battle more. Why won't you let her? Why do you refuse to train with us at times? … What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Sasha screamed at the top of his lungs. "We're just not as good as you! We didn't score perfect on both tests and we haven't saved the world and made a successful guild like _you_ have, Mister I-Live-For-Battling!"

Tew folded his arms and took a gulp, knowing full well that he was about to step in some deep crap with what he was about to say. "Does it anger you?"

"Does what anger me?" Sasha growled.

"That we're better than you!" Tew pointed and Chester came crashing down on the Hearing Pokémon with a perfect Iron Tail to the head. "Come on, Sasha!" the boy screamed loudly. Chester followed up with two quick Dual Chops to Morgan's stomach. "Doesn't it anger you that you're losing right now? You must be able to see it in your Audino, Sasha! Because I do!" The little spiky hedgehog charged an Energy Ball in his hands and fired it right at Morgan's chest.

Something inside Sasha just seemed to snap. "Yeah!" he barked, taking his necklace in his hands and activating the Mega Stone. "It does make me angry!"

Morgan's body exploded with power as she Mega Evolved, the raw force nearly blowing Tew and Chester away.

"This is more like it..." Tew thought to himself. "Chester, use Energy Ball!"

"Blow it away with Dazzling Gleam!"

Chester fired a ball of energy while Morgan let loose a powerful, bright beam that pierced straight through the attack and engulfed him in a large explosion that he was completely unprepared for.

Although, Tew knew his Pokémon was still standing, despite not being able to see him through the dust cloud. "Wrap this up with Iron Tail." he simply commanded.

Chester shot out of the cloud and with the element of surprise, came crashing down on his foe with a tail as hard as steel. Surprisingly, Sasha had ordered Morgan to capture the hedgehog's tail and fire another Dazzling Gleam right at point-blank range. Chester flew back to his trainer's side, now showing noticeable signs of being on his last leg. His body quickly bled with the green aura of Overgrow. With one, final Energy Ball from the hedgehog, Morgan collapsed and fainted, devolving back to her base form.

Sasha fell to his knees, exhausted. That was the most energy he had ever used in a battle. And it felt good. It felt really good. Coursing through his veins was this undeniable and unstable rush that he'd never gotten before in any other battle.

It was that night during training that Tew knew he'd dug up something out of his friend. And that something was the incredible will to battle. With that will, came a new rival.

The Champion Circuit had officially unofficially begun. It was Sunday morning and every trainer was required to gather on the other side of town in front of a large dome that was teeming with wild Pokémon. The trainers were allowed to go into the dome and capture their first Pokémon they would be using in the competition. But there was a twist to entering the dome. It had a total of one-hundred floors that led deep underground. The deeper a trainer would go, the tougher wild Pokémon they would find. However, there were no legendary Pokémon present in the Wild Dome, which made a few of the contestants angry. While entering the dome was not required, it was high recommended.

As the trainers were being addressed on what the Wild Dome was, Tew found the speech to be insufferable and boring due to the big words the officials were using such as "concordant," "officially," and "rules." It disinterested him so much that he slipped away from the crowd and took a stroll down the streets of the big city, planning to come back in around five minutes or so to check on the progress.

Tew strolled along, but stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed a human over in an open field with a Lucario. The human, appearing to be a male, was pretty tall. Most likely around six feet tall, at least. He had this short, sexy black hair that was a mess at the bottom with dark blue streaks leading down to it and a single streak of hot pink that made Tew somewhat moist. If anything, it was the noticeably athletic build that bulged through the boy's black, short-sleeve shirt and gray vest equipped with its own hood with black pants that really sealed the deal for our hero and just _made_ him go over and talk to him.

And that's when it happened. For the first time that entire week, Tew realized that he was separated from Sasha and had already started finding another guy attractive. Although they weren't really dating, there wasn't any problem with it. Although he wanted them to be dating, but he had a problem with it.

Tew stood, paralyzed by his revelation as he began to quietly scream internally with "The Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel playing in the background. _Hello Darkness my old friend. I've come to talk with you again._

Our hero quickly got over his state of shock upon witnessing the hot boy get slammed in the gut with a punch by a Lucario. As the kid flew back onto the grass, the Lucario jumped up and was ready to crash down another punch on him. But Tew quickly interfered and called his Chespin out over to him just in time. In half of a second, Lucario found his punch blocked by the raised arm of a Spiky Nut Pokémon who didn't even flinch. The Aura Pokémon quickly pulled away and growled while the boy slowly got up, giving Chester a very odd look for someone that just saved his life.

"Hey!" the boy called out to to Tew. "Is this your Chespin?"

"Yeah," Tew smiled and folded his arms, expecting a thank-you from the boy.

"Can you get it out of here, please?"

Tew's jaw dropped. "What kind of way is that to talk to someone who just saved your life? That Lucario was obviously going to take you down."

The boy stood up, brushing himself off and groaned. "No, see, that Lucario over there is mine. We spar every day."

"Wait..." Tew's mind tried to wrap around the concept of a human fighting a Pokémon. "So you train _with_ your Lucario?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded. "You've never done that before?"

"Nu-uh." Tew shook his head. "It seems kind of Farfetch'd to me. Haha, get it?" he expected the boy to laugh, but it seems that the two had a different sense of humor. "So, uh..." the young boy thought to himself, trying to make conversation with a guy that he found incredibly attractive. Its a lot harder than you'd think. "What's your name?"

The boy was ready to deliver a punch to counter a chop from Lucario, but paused and turned to Tew. "My name's Damien."

"Oh that's cool," Tew smiled as the boy went back to training, not really paying that much attention to him. "I'm Tew Hyland. It's nice to meet you!"

Damien just gave him a half-assed "Yeah, mhmm" and continued fighting with his Lucario. And Tew continued to pester him. "So where are you from?"

The tall boy stopped and groaned, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Look," he said, somewhat sternly. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but Anbu and I are training."

Tew pointed back to the crowd of trainers down the street in front of the dome. "So, do you know about the dome then? Is that why you're training?"

"What dome?" Damien stopped training completely at this point and took a seat on the grass to relax.

"There's this thing called the Wild Dome down the street. You can go in there and capture your first Pokémon for the tournament. Although you don't have to. They say you can only capture one, though. There's like, these sensor things that can tell once you've captured a Pokémon and they force you out or whatever."

"So this is the unofficial start of the tournament then..." the boy sighed. "Heh, I guess we've been a little out of touch, huh, Anbu?"

Anbu, Damien's Lucario, took a seat next to him and nodded.

"How come you're over here, anyway?" Tew asked as he sat down in front of the boy and his Lucario with Chester in his lap.

"Ah," Damien let out a long sigh. "I'm not really one for big crowds. Not the best talker in the world."

And that's when Tew noticed a lisp in the boy's voice. "Well, I don't think having a lisp makes you bad at talking... I mean, if you ever get me excited, I've got the gayest voice you'll ever hear."

Damien couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the vibrant boy's words. "No, I didn't mean literally bad at talking like I can't talk properly. I'm just sort of a loner, that's all. I enjoy the company of Pokémon more than I do people."

"Really?" Tew cocked his head in confusion. "I mean, I love Pokémon, too, but I need human contact every once in a while."

"That just means we're different is all." Damien smiled. "You prefer humans and Pokémon and I prefer just Pokémon."

"Why is that?"

The tall boy took a moment to think to himself and eventually came to a viable conclusion. "I don't really know, to be honest. I just feel like I can connect and talk better to Pokémon than I can to humans. I bet that sounds really weird like I'm some die-hard Pokémon worshiper or something."

"Nah, I think I understand." Tew yawned as he scooted over and laid back in the grass next to who he already considered his new friend. "I had a stage when I was seven where I'd just talk to vegetables all day. That's how I became a pescetarian. This carrot was like 'Dude, just eat us instead of meat. You'll get fat and gross like your dad.'"

"That's uh.. quite a story." Damien laughed again as he joined Tew in relaxing back on the grass. "You know, I've been here for a week now, same as you, probably. And you're the first person to come up and talk to me."

"Really?" Tew looked over at the boy. "I can't have been the first. What about your roommate?"

"To tell you the truth, I never really saw my roommate. I only went back to the room to sleep. The rest of the time I was out training with Anbu."

"Wow," Tew gasped quietly. "That's so weird because I was the exact opposite. I saw.. erm.. a _lot_ of my roommate." he tried to hold back giggling and an embarrassing flush of red on his face. "So wait," the boy said. "That means you and Anbu must be pretty strong, right?"

Damien shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. I mean, I guess everyone here is strong in their own respects."

"True... Hey, maybe we'll meet down the road one day and battle."

"Hah," Damien chuckled. "I'd like that. You seem pretty cool. So it's settled then. We're rivals."

"Nah," Tew shook his head. "I don't wanna be rivals with you. I wanna be friends."

"What? Why?"

"Not to sound mean or anything, but no one's talked to you this entire week. I don't want the first conversation you have with someone here to turn into a rivalry. I know it sounds weird, and I can't explain it. But I'd just really like it if we were friends, y'know?" He said, looking over at Damien and smiling lightly.

Damien smiled back and shook hands with him. "Alright then, it's settled. We're friends. Hey, what made you talk to me in the first place?"

"Oh!" Tew blushed. "Uhm... well, you see, I'm kinda-"

Suddenly, a roaring commotion could be heard from down the street. Both of the trainers looked to see the crowd of people pouring into the Wild Dome one by unorganized one.

"Ah, look!" Tew jumped up, praising Arceus for not having him tell his new friend that he thought he was extremely hot. "I think it's starting!"

Damien sprung up along with Anbu and took a deep breath, preparing to charge in with the other trainers. "I guess I'll see you in there, bud."

Tew looked up at Damien and nodded. "Yeah, sure will." he smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

The Champion Circuit

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 7

It felt like utter Hell when Tew entered the Wild Dome. The first floor was so hot and filled with the sweat of hundreds of trainers that he could barely breathe without suffering a heat stroke. He looked around to see nothing but chaos as each trainer battled any wild Pokémon that they saw.

Tew proceeded down to the second floor, which had virtually the same thing, only at a cooler temperature. His descent into the Wild Dome felt like a hazardous highway as his mission to find the stairs was to dodge any stray attacks flew by him. And there were a ton of stray attacks.

Along the way, the Guildmaster spotted many Pokémon he felt that he wanted to capture, but they either got away or someone else interfered and captured the Pokémon he was battling.

Around the fiftieth floor was when he started to notice less and less people. He took a step out onto the dry, arid sand of the level and almost sunk down to his ankles in it. The sand was loose and gooey like jello, almost. As he tried to walk through the odd, gooey sand, he made the mistake of stepping on a Geodude that was burrowed underneath the ground. That's when a battle ensued.

"Chester, use Energy Ball!" Tew cried out.

Chester fired an orb of energy at the rocky Pokémon, but it bounced off a protective force field it pulled up and released a scorching blast of fire that lit the hedgehog's tail ablaze. The Geodude used this opportunity to escape underground, never to be seen again.

After putting out the fire, Tew and Chester clashed with many more Pokémon before they reached the seventieth floor. It was a dark, cold, and empty room. He put his hand out in front of him but lost it in the shadows. The two proceeded with caution as they tried to navigate around the darkness.

Suddenly, Tew felt a hand on his shoulder. He quickly jolted and turned around only to be licked by the thick, slobbery tongue of a wild Gengar. Even though he wasn't a Pokémon, Tew was definitely feeling the secondary effect of Lick, which was paralysis.

By his trainer's orders, Chester fired an Energy Ball at the gaseous Pokémon, but it faded away into the darkness only to retort with a hard, shadowy punch to the hedgehog's side that made him fly out of Tew's sight. Having no way to illuminate the room or any of the area around him, Tew was left calling out random commands, hoping that his Pokémon could hear and battle. But it was no use. Not even a single sound emanated from the empty world around him. Tew quickly overcame his paralysis and began running blindly around the room.

A glimmering light of hope shined and the entire room was suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree. Tew looked over to see a random trainer and her Jolteon using Flash to find their way around. He took the opportunity to look around and found his Chespin attacking a wall. Apparently, he thought it was Gengar. He was doing some massive damage to that wall, too. Definitely a sight that his trainer would never forget. Having laughed at him long enough, Tew took Chester and fled to the next room.

The next twenty or so floors were just Tew and Chester trying to find a suitable wild Pokémon to capture. But at the entrance to the one-hundredth floor was when Tew's curiosity was stroked to the point that it felt like masturbation. There was a group of trainers huddled around by the entrance. Tew joined what he thought was some kind of strategy meeting, but saw a battered and bruised boy who looked like he had just been through the fight of his life.

"The one-hundredth floor..." the boy coughed weakly. "Such a terrible Pokémon... S- so strong... Couldn't land a single hit. Too fast..."

"What was it?" a trainer asked.

"What did it look like?" another trainer asked.

But the boy faded out of consciousness before he could answer any of their questions. All of the trainers looked at each other with worried eyes.

"This guy.. he scored perfect on both exams, yet the wild Pokémon down there creamed him."

"I'm sort of scared to even go down there and take a look."

"Well, whatever it is, I want it." Tew spoke up. "If no one else is gonna go down there right now, I wanna try my hand at it." And of course, Tew was the protagonist of the story, so he basically had a duty to his character and to the readers to go down there and see what was up. A few trainers followed behind him as they walked into a bright light that blinded them momentarily.

Upon regaining their sight, they found themselves in a completely white and spotless room. Many of them expected a torn up, shattered area where the first trainer had been defeated. But it looked as if no one had even entered the room previously.

Much to everyone's surprise, a small Minccino appeared from the deep white of the room and greeted them happily. Tew was so mesmerized by its cuteness that he couldn't help but squeal. Chester hopped off his trainer's shoulder to greet the small, cleanly Pokémon. The chinchilla happily began brushing the dirt of the hedgehog with his long tail.

But that was the bait. Minccino's tail suddenly wrapped around Chester's neck and choke-slammed him into the ground. The chinchilla pulled back with a devilish sneer on his face and began slapping the ever-loving crap out of Chester with a vicious Tail Slap attack. Reeling back for the final hit, Minccino slapped the hedgehog so hard that it flew back and pierced through the wall, becoming trapped in it.

Tew couldn't even call out an order due to being caught so off-guard by the chinchilla's sheer strength. But he managed to regain his composure as Chester climbed out of the broken wall and reset himself at his trainer's side. The two Pokémon then stared each other down, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The sudden change from all out physical force to a psychological stand still really sent a shiver down everyone's spines. This Minccino was different from any other wild Pokémon.

Chester's tail suddenly rise. His trainer picked up on that and knew he was ready to strike with an attack. "Go, Chester, use Dual Chop!"

The hedgehog's arms became surrounded in a green, dragon-like energy as he rushed the small chinchilla. Minccino released a powerful, blue blast of electricity straight down the field. Chester tried to run around it, but found the blast following his movements, looping around and chasing him.

Tew took notice of the Shock Wave attack and clenched his fists frustratedly. "That attack won't miss... Unless Chester isn't there to take the hit. Keep going, Chester! Get to Minccino!"

Chester knew exactly what his trainer was planning. At the last second before making contact with his opponent, the hedgehog aimed his Dual Chop at the ground, using the force of the attack to spring him high into the air. He landed behind Minccino, leaving the chinchilla to take full impact of the blast. However, the chinchilla knew exactly what the boy and his Pokémon had planned and in the blink of an eye, dashed away. Chester turned back only to be engulfed by the electrical shock.

"Dammit!" Tew swore out loud in the heat of frustration.

Minccino darted into the cloud of smoke from the Shock Wave, ready with another Tail Slap attack.

"Counter with Dual Chop!"

As the smoke cleared, it revealed each of the Pokémon taking blow after blow from one another. Chester jumped up and slammed a Dual Chop attack on Minccino's head with both of his arms, only for Minccino to take the attack and shoot his tail up the air, smacking the hedgehog back down, face first into the ground. Chester quickly rose up and grabbed the back of Minccino's head with Dual Chop and showed him what it was like to be slammed face first into the ground. However, the chinchilla's tail wrapped around his arm and flung him across the room into the wall. Chester shot out of the wall like a bullet and landed a punch in the enemy's jaw. He still kept going from the force of the attack and bounced off the wall on the other side of the room, coming back for another Dual Chop. Minccino anticipated this and caught the Chespin with his tail, releasing a powerful Shock Wave and holding him there to endure it all, racking up some massive damage. Once he had his fun with the hedgehog, he threw him back to his trainer's feet.

Tew felt the rush of the wild Pokémon battle coursing through his veins, as the same was for Chester once he got back up and roared, still having some fight left in him. "I'm guessing a regular Chespin isn't that much of a challenge for you, huh?"

The wild Minccino simply chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Then I guess we'll have to take it up and notch and break out the big guns! Chester, use Iron Tail!" Tew roared. He smiled confidently, seeing that Minccino was actually somewhat out of breath. Although something struck him as being off. As Chester charged down the field, Minccino just stood there, not even preparing a counter attack. Then a stunning realization hit him. "Chester, don't! It's a trap!"

But it was too late. Chester flipped and smacked his iron-clad tail down on the Minccino, only to be shocked that it seemed to disappear in thin air. Suddenly, what felt like an army of Minccino appeared from all sides, surrounding him and lunging at him with paws as black as the night, ready to execute a group Thief attack.

"It was a doppelganger from Double Team..." Tew growled. Seeing that there was literally no way for Chester to get out of there, he did the only thing he thought would work. "Chester, fire Stone Edge into the air! Prepare your Stone Armor!"

Chester did as instructed and assumed his t-stance position as he fired sharp, jagged rocks into the air. The Minccino all pounced on him with the rocks coming straight down at them. The chaos resulted in a massive explosion so large, that it nearly blew away all of the trainers and blinded them for at least few seconds. Once the smoke cleared, pretty much everyone but Tew was shocked to see Chester encapsulated in an armor suit made completely of stone. But not only was Chespin inside of it, Minccino was trapped along with him.

A bright, green aura shined from the cracks in the armor, signaling that Overgrow had officially activated.

"Gotcha!" Tew cheered. "Ikuzo, Chester! Energy Ball!" Never before had Tew yelled that attack so loudly.

Chester fired the most powerful Energy Ball of his life right into Minccino's body. The last thing anyone could remember was the massive explosion it caused and Tew running into the chaos, armed with an empty Poké Ball in his hand.


	8. Chapter 8

The Champion Circuit

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 8

It was Monday morning. Time for all of the trainers to report to the teleporters so they could officially begin the competition. However, the officials never thought there would be over two thousand trainers that entered. Apparently they never accounted for that many, so there was an extremely long line at each teleporter.

"Come on, kids. Form a single file line!" an official yelled. "Yeesh, it's like none of them even went to preschool." He growled as he ushered kids forward and backward and all over the place, really. Many of the trainers thought he had no idea what he was doing.

"Well that's because they haven't." an official that ranked lower than him spoke up as he properly ushered kids to and from where they were supposed to go. "The entire concept of preschool doesn't even exist in the Pokémon world and the writer is just using it for comical effect."

"If you keep back-talking me, so help me Arceus, I will dock your pay."

"What pay?" the underling official asked, putting his mouth once again where it didn't belong. "We're volunteers. Even the concept of jobs doesn't exist because you never once see someone getting paid or even the actual appearance of a dollar bill. If dollars are even what they're called here."

While the higher-ranking official strangled the lower-ranking one, Tew waited patiently in line as his turn to be put in a teleporter was coming up shortly. He'd worked with Sasha the previous night after participating in the Wild Dome to get his backpack organized and make sure they had more than enough food to last them both for a while.

It was the last night they'd have together for a while, so understandably, Tew wanted to make it special by being an idiot and asking Sasha to be his boyfriend, to which the boy denied him once again for the reasons he said back when they were blitzed. This was just something Tew was going to have to work on accepting. He began to feel a little two-faced as he didn't even bother to tell him about his new friend, Damien. But something about the boy made our hero fairly sure that he didn't play for his team, which was something else Tew was going to have to get over.

Tew realized that he was about to start the biggest journey of his life, having to get over emotional troubles in a cold, gray hallway. Even though there were tons of people with him in line and the commotion was quite loud, it still felt empty and alone to him. Probably because Sasha wasn't there with him and neither was Damien. Trainers were told to keep their Pokémon in their Poké Balls, so not even Chester or his newly caught Minccino could be any company. Since he was a little kid and started The Weedles Guild, standing in the hallway for about forty-five minutes made him realize it was the longest he'd ever gone without a Pokémon by his side. That made him feel sad.

However, the moving of the line prompted him to perk up as it was now his turn to get into the teleporter. Having spent what he thought was just a couple of minutes thinking actually turned out to be a full two hours and ten minutes with his body on auto-pilot, moving up in the line whenever he was supposed to. He stepped into the white, escape pod-looking chamber and tried desperately to crack a smile so the official working the machine wouldn't feel sorry for him.

Then he noticed it. Sasha was in the teleporter to the right of him. He banged desperately on the glass that divided them and eventually got the boy's attention. But it only turned out that it was a girl that looked similar to Sasha.

But then he heard banging on the opposite end of the teleporter and turned back to see Sasha actually getting his attention. He mouthed a few words, but Tew, being the genius he was, couldn't understand them.

In the blink of an eye, the glass disappeared and he was outside underneath the bright, morning sun. The boy fell to his knees on the dirt path he was now standing on and wept silently to himself. A soft wind blew through his dirty blonde hair, causing it to fall over his eyes and blind him slightly. As he brushed the strands of hair away, a small Weedle had appeared in front of him. It looked him in the eyes as if it were trying to figure out what exactly he was.

"Hey, little guy." Tew said, rubbing the tears and snot away from his face. "Did you come here to cheer me up?" He extended his arm and allowed the little hair bug to crawl up it and around his body. His mouth tried to stay shut, but soon exploded with uncontrollable giggling as the tiny hairs on the Weedle brushed against his skin. "Ahaha! Stop, that tickles!"

The Pokémon suddenly hopped off the boy's body and signaled with its tail for him to follow. Tew grabbed the straps of his backpack and followed blissfully behind the little bug until they arrived at a sight that nearly made him hurl up his breakfast.

There were two large Beedrill laying there in a pool of blood. Their bodies looked as if they'd been massacred mercilessly by what was probably a Flying-type Pokémon. Tew had to rub his eyes for a second to even begin to try and comprehend the fact that Weedle was able to survive what happened. Well obviously the poor thing ran away. Or maybe its parents helped it get away.

However, none of that mattered right now. An ear-shattering shriek of a bird filled the air and rattled their eardrums. A large thump behind them made the two turn around and bear witness to a large Swellow with what looked to be remains of another Bug-type Pokémon hanging from its beak. But it quickly took care of that by swallowing it and spreading its large, blue wings with a screech so loud that it nearly blew them away.

Tew picked up both his sunken heart and Weedle and proceeded to run like Hell. But the bird was at least ten times faster than him and cornered the two with its speed before he could even turn around. At that second, Tew realized that he wasn't in the hallway anymore.

"Go, Chilla!" he cried with a toss of his Poké Ball. "Shock Wave!"

Minccino, affectionately named Chilla for how lazy he was the other night after getting captured, broke out of his Poké Ball and sprung into action. He used the power boost from Technician and released a devastating jolt of blue electricity.

Swellow made quick work of the blast by blocking it with its broad wing, which was astounding considering the fact that Electric-type attacks were super effective against Flying-types like Swellow.

Tew called for yet another Shock Wave and this time Chilla gave it everything he had, but still didn't even budge the bird a little bit. He then ordered for a U-Turn attack, which consisted of the little chinchilla smacking the bird clear in the face and patting on his own butt before returning to his Poké Ball. As it was his only other choice, Chester was called out into battle.

"Chester, use Stone Edge! The new way we practiced!"

Chester punched the ground in front of him, causing a large, spiky pillar of solid rock to erupt from the earth beneath Swellow. In Tew's mind, there was no way that the bird would have ever expected that.

But he's been wrong before.

Swellow shot into the air like a missile and came crashing down, clothes-lining the hedgehog with its large, widespread wings. In just one hit, the incredible Chespin had fallen.

Tew was forced to call him back and send out Chilla. However, the two knew that Swellow was on an entirely different level of strength than they were. The poor chinchilla was quickly wiped out by a jab of the bird's large beak. Now with nothing left to do, Tew found himself backed into the trunk of a large tree with no way out.

Just then, Tew knew what he had to do. He sat the young Weedle down behind him and stood over it, spreading his arms out to block the Swellow's path of getting the little bug. "Excuse me!" he said in his sassy voice. "You think you can just come after Weedle like this? Aw Hell no. You've gotta get past me before you do anything else!"

Chester, although fainted, broke out of his Poké Ball unannounced and took his trainer's side, trying to muster the strength just to stay up on his two feet. Chilla followed in suit, wanting to protect his new trainer out of respect for his strength.

Swellow leaned forward and tried to bite Tew, but the boy moved to the side out of the way and got his cashmere guild sweater ripped on the torso. However, he still held his ground. For a Pokémon he'd only just met, nonetheless. But the gears began turning in his head, giving him a thought. Why would a _wild_ Swellow be so hellbent on getting a little, insignificant Weedle? Most wild Pokémon would have given up by now.

There was no time for that. Upon witnessing the boy become physically injured over it, Weedle sprang up over the boy's shoulder and released a large, yellow web that took Swellow by surprise. The sticky web fell over the large bird and shocked it vigorously. Knowing that there wasn't any time to ask questions, Tew took the Weedle in his arms and exploited the opportunity to run. And run he did.

The group had successfully escaped the terror of the wild Swellow.

Far off into the night, that very same Swellow flew across sheer cliffs until landing on a man's arm. The man stood on the edge, looking down at the forest that the bird came from and scoffed. "That should show him."

At that very same second, across the forest, Tew felt himself jolt awake. A strange presence was thick in the air, like tension, only more unnerving. That's when he realized what exactly that Swellow was. He'd only seen one like it his entire life and there was no way he was ever going to forget it. That Swellow belonged to a man that Tew had spent his whole entire life hating. This was the _last_ place he'd ever think that they would meet. But after four years, it seemed that it was finally starting to become time for Tew to face it.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: As much as I love everyone's characters that they have submitted, I, unfortunately, can't give each one of them their own personal arc like Sasha had. Whether or not a character got an arc or not was purely due to the order of submission, although it can change. I'm always trying to figure out new ideas for the story. But please, don't take it personally if your character is just a random trainer and nothing more. **

**Also, credit to Black Lightning Kaiju for his character, Damien Stein.**

* * *

><p>The Champion Circuit<p>

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 10

"So, Weedle." Tew started as the campfire roared around him and his two sleeping Pokémon. "What happened?"

The Weedle began telling a spectacular tale through the Pokémon language that the boy couldn't understand. With that notion, Tew smacked his own head for expecting to know how to speak Pokémon.

Suddenly, it was as if Tew's body just lost all of its spark. He hugged his knees up to his chest and looked down at the fire with depressed eyes. "I want Sasha back. I want my Guild back." he pouted like a small child. After witnessing who was here in the circuit made him feel even lower than a Stunfisk in the mud. It was the exact converse of the boy's bubbly personality he'd been displaying on the trip.

The fire continued to blaze calmly in front of them, sending off beautiful little embers that disappeared into the sky to become one with the world. Tew was especially interested in it this night for some reason. Deep down he thought that sometimes he goes to watch fire whenever he's upset. But he had every right to be upset. Knowing that man is here somewhere was the worst feeling he could ever experience. It just seemed to murder the confidence and happiness he usually had, but he was taking this bad. At the full moon finally in the middle of the sky, Tew had taken to wanting to find anything that could make him happy.

Over in the woods around him, he found a stick.

Over in the woods around him, he used that stick.

Over in the woods around him, the stick drug across his arm like the tip of a dull knife.

Over in the woods around him, he screamed silently at the pain.

Over in the woods around him, the pain started to go away.

Over in the woods around him, a hedgehog and confused chinchilla pulled the stick from his hands.

Over in the woods around him, he dove and fought his own friends for that stick.

Over in the woods around him, the hedgehog had to wait until he fought himself to sleep.

Over in the woods around him, that same hedgehog dragged the boy back to the campsite.

Over in the woods around him, this story was handed over to the Pokémon's point of view.

"Chespin!" Minccino said as Chester put their trainer in the tent and pulled the blanket over him.

Chester sighed as he turned around to address the flustered chinchilla. "Actually, _Chilla_, Chester's my name." The hedgehog was soon barraged by questions by the wild Weedle as well. He acted as sort of an adult figure to the two Pokémon, even though Minccino was technically older than him by a few days. "So, our trainer, Tew... He can get like this sometimes. I'm just thankful this one wasn't out of nowhere."

Chilla's head tilted sideways and his ears twitched in confusion. "What do you mean 'wasn't out of nowhere?' We just went to sleep and he started cutting himself."

"Chilla, didn't you hear him talking through your Poké Ball back at in the hallway? That was the start of it all."

"Mister, I'm confused." The Weedle spoke up.

"Tew gets these mood swings sometimes. Sometimes they're brought on by a bad or good event and other times, it's as random as Metronome. He's what the humans call 'Bipolar Disorder Type 2.' But he'll be fine, don't worry. The worst of it is over. He may be a little sluggish in the morning and he may need our help to get him up."

And a little sluggish he was. That next morning, Tew was curled up in his blanket in a half sleep, half awake. His Pokémon were all gathered around him, trying to shake him awake. But the little scout just wasn't having it. He swatted them away with his hands, which left them no choice but to drag him out by his feet. Out the boy came like a baby being born, kicking and screaming.

However, a wild Riolu sent flying from a nearby tree perked everyone right up. Tew extended his arm, which Chester hung off, and Chilla hung off Chester, holding Weedle up at the top like Simba in The Lion King and spun a regular, non-electrified web. The little Aura Pokémon, much to her surprise, landed in a soft, but sticky thread.

The group helped her off, but Chilla with his large ears heard movement in the back and released a bolt of electricity from the contracting muscles all around his body. A wild Lucario was blown away the blast, which gave Tew and the others enough time to at least turn around. The wild warrior returned, forming a long bone of pure energy between his paws and aiming it at them.

Each of Tew's Pokémon, including Tew himself, roared at the Lucario with all their might. The Aura Pokémon had paid them no attention previously and was ready to quickly dispatch them, slowly closed sheathed his weapon and despite the disgruntled, child-like yells, could recognize that they all possessed great power. Knowing he was outmatched, Lucario disappeared into the treetops with a dash.

"Hey, so what was all of that about?" Tew asked as he turned to the little Emanation Pokémon. He suddenly thought he was being stupid, but slapped his own head in the realization that Riolu could share their emotions with others. Wanna know he realized it? Riolu did it. Through the exchange of emotions, the trainer could see that Riolu was going through an intense training session that got too rough, and she could see that the trainer's will was shattered. "Well, I don't think they should be allowed to hit you that hard!"

And Riolu quickly tackled the trainer, wrapping her paws around the boy's neck for a spontaneous hug. It was exactly what the young boy needed and he quickly took to her for it, as he did with everyone that was kind to him within the first hour of meeting them.

"So they're trying to help you train, right?" Tew said, setting down the Riolu. He stood for a few seconds, taking a moment to himself to think where he'd remember something like this. Well, every day. Tew trained nearly every day last week so that could have been it. But finally his slow processing brain recalled him back to two days ago when he met Damien. "That's right... when I first saw him, he was training with his Lucario." He took a look down at the young Riolu and clenched his fist in pure determination. "Do you want a good sparring partner? I can help train you?"

Riolu's eyes began to glisten and well up with excitement as she grabbed on the boy's arm and quickly flipped him as effortlessly as it would be for him to flip a pillow.

Tew quickly got up and wiped the dirt away from the corners of the mouth. He charged her with a full-body tackle. "Let's get this fight on!"


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Duskzilla, your reviews have been going through just fine and your OC has been accepted :) make an account so we can talk more! I've got questions and you seem like a cool person.**

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><p>The Champion Circuit<p>

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 10

At a young age, all aspiring trainers are taught that you must think with the graceful complexity of an Alakazam's thoughts and be as calm as a gently flowing river. It was these two attributes that made a Pokémon Trainer go from good, to great.

"What the HELL do you mean we have to earn eighteen badges now?!" Tew bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Following the end of the first week on the Champion Circuit, all trainers were informed via notification on whatever electronic devices they had, in Tew's case, a Pokétch, that all trainers were now required to defeat and earn a total of eighteen gym badges in the span of one year, rather than the original eight.

But obviously, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, here. Let's rewind back to where we left off of our young hero previously, which was around five days earlier.

"So, Riolu." Tew said as he placed his hands on his hips. "We're gonna help you train!" the boy's Pokémon, including Weedle, joined him by his side. "Well, when I say 'we're', I really mean _me._ And when I say 'help you train', I really mean help me train." He spread his legs out and got in what could only be described as a stance someone LARP'ing as a mage would take. "I had a guildmate who taught me that the best way to learn something is through teaching someone. So basically, you're gonna teach me how to fight!"

In the blink of an eye, Riolu jumped up spin kicked the boy in his solar plex, sending him flying to the ground. Chester quickly began to lunge at the blue warrior, but a sight wheeze from his trainer stopped him cold in his tracks.

"N- no." Tew said. He struggled to get up, having felt the stinging numbness of being hit in his solar plex and held his hand out. "It's fine." The boy could tell that the Riolu had intended to catch him off guard as one of their first lessons. "Riolu's just teaching me, right?"

Riolu nodded her head with a mischievous smirk, one similar to what Chilla would usually smile.

The teenager, having regained his footing, threw a straight punch out Riolu. However, she saw the attack coming from a mile away and simply moved out of the way. With a quick turn, she delivered a swift punch to the boy's side. He whimpered and faltered to his side a little bit, but took the pain like a champ and came back with a kick. Not expecting that from her opponent, she was slammed in the stomach and pushed back a little bit, but having experience in fighting taught her how to take the hit without having to bear the full brunt of the force. It was a tactic many Pokémon and humans alike called bracing themselves.

"Come on, guys." Tew said as he looked down at the Pokémon's confused faces. "Join in! We're all friendly here. Let's get some action."

All at once, the Pokémon seemed to gang up on the human boy. Chester struck with a kick, Chilla and Weedle swiped at him with his tail, and Riolu threw a punch. Tew quickly saw the four Pokémon lunging at him and jumped backwards, causing their attacks to collide with nothing but air.

The group spent that entire day fighting. Punch after punch was thrown in Tew's way. He had to take a few until he eventually learned how to block by throwing his arms up in an X formation.

As the sun began to set in the distant sky, Tew and the Pokémon decided to call it a day and start preparing the campfire. Chilla, being the lazy neat freak he was, had to fight with himself about how much he wanted to properly prepare the pit for the fire, because he felt that Tew didn't do it right last night.

Which he didn't.

Through Chilla's eyes, it had to be a certain way every single time in order to get the most optimal use out of the campfire. Rocks had to be placed around the pile of sticks, obviously. But there was a science to it. You couldn't just place them any ol' way that you felt like.

First, the rocks had to be of similar size and weight. Next, the pit itself needed to be rather large to take into account embers being let off from the fire. Once that was complete, a hole had to be dug out in order to place the pile of sticks in. But as Tew quickly learned from his Pokémon, there was also a science to that. If it wasn't a certain length across and width around, the entire pit had to be scrapped. This happened about five times.

At that point, Chester and Riolu had already returned with a pile of sticks in their hands. _Of COURSE_ the idiots managed to mess that up as well. The sticks couldn't just be any kind of sticks. They had to be dry and large with a few small ones for kindling. Chester had gathered a bunch of soppy, damp sticks that wouldn't be any good while Riolu had gathered too many small sticks. However, at least part of the martial artist Pokémon's pile could be salvaged. By the order of the self-elected campfire starter, Chilla, Chester had to go find more. He grumbled about it, but shortly returned with a pile of large sticks, all relatively the same size as to humor the small chinchilla.

Chilla didn't find this humorous. He found this _necessary_. Once the sticks were laid to the little Pokémon's liking, he called for Weedle to spin a thread over the pile so the fire would spread to each stick easily.

It was then that he realized that he was working with a bunch of incompetent fools, save the possible potential Riolu possessed. Weedle had messily spat the string over the pile in a way that was so uneven, Chilla could safely assume that parts of the fire would burn much quicker than other. He cleaned it all off with his tail and had the little bug try again. Thankfully, he got it right that time.

Now all that was left was to rub two small sticks together to start the fire.

If Chilla had ever begun losing respect for his trainer's survival skills, it was right now. The boy was doing it the newbie way, which was just simply rubbing two sticks. See, there was a much more effective way to make fire. Tew had the right idea of grabbing two sticks and rubbing them, but he was working the shaft the wrong way. A much easier way was to rub down as you rubbed to create more friction. Thus, the fire was started and began roaring in front of them. Chilla could finally sit back and relax.

Tew smashed a small, metal bar through a can of beans that he and Sasha, well... _used_, and began roasting them over the flames. It was actually one of the bars from bed frame of the bed from the hotel the two stayed in. They ripped it off for... experimental purposes. The experiment, however, was a complete and utter failure. For a while, the two couldn't walk without slight discomfort, but they easily found a replacement which yielded much more success and pleasure than the metal rod. It was weird of Tew to keep it. As he roasted the beans, he thought about it and let out a small sigh. The only conclusion he could arrive to was that it was just a memento of their relationship. Or friendship. Sometimes it was hard for Tew to accept the fact that it wasn't a relationship, seeing as how the two exclusively spent time with only each other that entire week.

Lost in thought, Tew failed to realize that Weedle had worked up such an appetite, he had to satisfy it now. And he did so by completely devouring the boy's cashmere guild sweater.

"Ah!" Tew exclaimed, witnessing the last thread of his sweater fly into the bug's mouth and down his throat. "My sweater! Weedle, what'd you do that for?"

The little bug had no concept of what the human was saying, so he just smiled and crawled back over to the fire.

The trainer groaned as he sat back down and continued roasting the beans. "So, guys, did we all have fun today?"

Chester, Chilla, and Riolu nodded. Weedle was too busy stuffing his face with an assortment of leaves to look up or even hear the boy. Curious about the taste of the leaves after seeing the bug put away so many of them, the hedgehog reached out and took a nibble of one. It was apparently the best thing he'd ever tasted as he joined in the feast with Weedle. An impressionable Tew was drawn in and he, too, fell for the mesmerizing sweetness of the leaves. Riolu soon followed suit and the four were gorging on the most magnificent meal of their lives. … Leaves...

Chilla, however, was above consuming such garbage as a leaf or dirt, which is what Tew would sometimes accidentally grab instead of a leaf, but didn't even seem to notice. He took over the roasting of the beans and had a quiet meal by himself. The little chinchilla managed to finish the beans and looked over only to see the four still gorging on the offerings of nature. Leaves just weren't that filling.

**. . .**

_**Later that night...**_

Complete war and chaos had ensued. Our hero broke out of his tent in a cold sweat and screamed his battle cry as he charged into the woods. Piece by piece, Tew stripped his clothes off, leaving them in a trail behind him. He was now buck-naked in the wilderness. The courageous soon-to-be champion stood atop a large rock and proclaimed to the world "I have explosive diarrhea!" he cried.

That's right. The would-be hope-of-the-world was having some major complications deep within the woods as he squeezed his cheeks and gripped a nearby tree branch for dear life. The force behind the excrement of the boy's waste was almost so powerful that it could have lifted him off the ground. "Arceus Above... leaves with sriracha was _not_ a good idea." he said to himself over and over again to make sure that it would stick in his head. Nothing ever stuck in the boy's head for long though. To be completely forthcoming, he was very liable to repeat his actions a month later. And he did, but that was a story for another time.

The boy wasn't alone in the explosive diarrhea mayhem, however. Both Chester and Riolu were feeling the full effects of the ailment and along with Tew, were up all night and all day with painful stomachs and rupturing buttholes.

Chilla, who had refused to ingest any of the leaves in the first place, was one of the only ones that felt completely fine the next day. Weedle and his cast-iron stomach was the other Pokémon that wasn't experiencing the awful sickness the other three felt.

"Oh it hurts... so much more than that metal bar..." Tew groaned as he rolled over in his sleeping back. His arms were permanently wrapped around his stomach and he was drenched in sweat. Horrible sounds from Chester and Riolu who were laying next to the boy, nearly made Chilla's dinner from last night come back up. Weedle didn't have much of an idea what was going on anyway, so he just sat and watched, wondering why everyone was so sick.

Just at that instant, Chilla snapped his fingers- well, paws, and smiled with a new idea that popped into his head. "Hey, there's a mixture of Oran and Pecha berries that I know how to make. Maybe it'll make them feel better."

"Wait, they're sick?" Weedle asked, befuddled. "Is that why they're rolling around and making all of those noises?"

Chilla eyed the little bug with raised, surprised eyebrows. "I- I thought it was obvious..." he stammered slightly, still somewhat in shock that Weedle didn't grasp that concept minutes ago.

"Oh, right." Weedle nodded. "So what do we do?"

"We go get Oran and Pecha berries to make that mixture I was talking about.. have you not been listening or something?"

"Yeah! I was listening. Let's go get the berries." He quickly scampered out of the tent and out into the open, fresh air.

Chilla quickly followed him. "H- Hey, wait! Do you know where to find them?"

"No." Weedle stopped and turned around to say.

"Then where are you going?" the chinchilla tilted his head slightly.

"To go look for them."

"... Do you even know what they look like?"

"No."

"Then how are you going to find them?"

"Find what?"

"The Oran and Pecha berries!" Chilla nearly screamed out of frustration.

"Oh! I know where those are. C'mon, follow me!" the bug said as he began to crawl quickly into the woods.

Chilla could only rub the area between his eyes in disgruntlement as he followed behind Weedle. "Arceus, guide us." he said underneath his breath

**. . .**

Having wasted what felt like an eternity to Chilla and what felt like just a few minutes to Weedle, but was really about eleven hours, the two still had not come across any Oran or Pecha berries. However, they _did_ stumble upon Lum berries, but passed them up in hopes of finding what they were originally looking for.

"Hey, Weedle." Minccino said as he came to a stop. "I think we should just turn around and go back for the Lum berries we saw earlier."

Weedle stopped and looked back at the chinchilla. "How come?" he asked curiously.

"Well," Chilla folded his arms and looked up at the fiery orange sky. "The sun is already setting. Tew and the others must be in a great deal of pain back at the campsite. Or it could be the opposite and they could be getting better. Either way, we have to consider the fact that it's been almost an entire day and we haven't seen any Oran or Pecha berries at all. I think it'd be best if we went with plan B and just tried the Lum berries."

The small bug just simply nodded his head and the two started to go back the way they came. But his nose suddenly caught the scent of an awful smell. Chilla soon began smelling it, too. Something similar to a mixture of rotten eggs, old, raw meat, and the product of the leaves that Tew, Chester, and Riolu ate last night.

"You guys looking for something...?" a low, ominous voice said from behind them. The two Pokémon turned around to see a purple, gaseous Pokémon with craters all over its body like a nerd with pimples exuding a foul cloud of stench from each one of them.

Chilla had to cover his nose with both his paws and his tail in order to stomach opening his mouth to talk. "Y- yeah, Oran and Pecha berries." he said through gagging. "Who are you? And why do you smell so bad?"

"Heh heh... name's Koffing..." the Pokémon identified herself. Hard to think that any Pokémon of the female gender could smell so foul, but that was a gender stereotype. Shame on Chilla for thinking that.

"Aw gosh, I've heard about the Pokémon Koffing." Chilla retched as he recalled horrible memories of being bullied by a gang of them when he was younger. "They always smell bad- no matter what."

"Bad is an understatement!" Weedle tacked on to his friend's statement. "I've smelt some things, believe me, I'm a Bug-type, but I've _never_ smelled anything as foul as her."

"Now that's rude..." the Koffing said with a long, drawn-out sigh. "Didn't your parents teach you to always treat a lady right...?"

"My parents are dead." Weedle said.

Koffing seemed to be completely unaffected by the bug's words. In fact, it almost seemed as if she flat out ignored him. "If you guys need Oran and Pecha berries... I know where you can find some... Just follow me..."

Suddenly, Chilla got the coldest shiver he ever experienced in his life traveling down his. "W- what?" he thought to himself as he looked around frantically. "What's happening?" his fur began to stand on end as his muscles began uncontrollably contracting, preparing to let off an electric shock. "What is this? I have the oddest sense of foreboding right now..." the chinchilla looked up at the Koffing floating in the air. Her dirty, disgusting face seemed to be stuck in a dim, almost malicious smile.

But that wasn't what put Minccino on edge. No, it was something else. He fought the urge to release a bolt of electricity and focused on the world around him. There was Weedle, his not-too-bright companion, but he seemed normal. As carefree as ever, really. Next there was Koffing, but she herself at the moment didn't seem to be threatening. The trees and bushes around them were another part of the world, but there was no stirring or rustling in them to make him think something was coming. The only thing left was the horrible smell. Chilla uncovered his nose and took a quick whiff of the air. That smell was so overbearing and pungent, it was as if it was on purpose. Of course, Koffing always smell bad, but this seemed a little over the top, even for one of them. He raised his nose up into the air and tried to sniff as hard as he could. The putrid smell quickly filled his lungs, but there was a faint, familiar odor. It smelled like something of the avian variety.

Koffing could see the distortions of curiosity on the chinchilla's face as he came to a horrible realization.

Chilla quickly grabbed Weedle and dashed forward. A fiery explosion from behind them sent the two flying forward into the ground. As they looked back, they saw Koffing slowly approaching them with that dreadful smile. She exhaled a toxic cloud of fumes and said in her low, drawn out voice "You should learn how to control that nose of yours..."


	11. Chapter 11

The Champion Circuit

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 11

Night had fallen on the world. Tew crawled out of his tent, arms and kneels wobbling underneath the one-hundred and nineteen pounds of weight his body had. "Arceus Above..." he groaned weakly, falling on the soil and rolling over on his back to see the pitch sky. "You guys alright?"

Chester and Riolu emerged from the tent as if they had just fought a forty year-long war and rested on the boy's stomach, to which he yelped loudly and moved them up to his chest.

Tew's heart immediately began to race as he shot up with more energy in his body than Chester would have when Overgrow activated. All at once, his senses went crazy. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as tall as ever, his fingers began trembling with fear, and his feet shook in his sneakers. There was only one thing in the world that could make him feel like this.

He looked around the campsite, frantically lifting rocks and climbing trees, but couldn't find Chilla or Weedle anywhere. That's when the boy knew that something was horribly wrong.

Tew rallied his troops and they tore into the forest like a swat team, running as fast and hard as they could. The Guildmaster's lungs went into overdrive as he pushed himself to keep running, even though his body wanted to give up.

Far off into the forest, Chilla and Weedle quickly found themselves backed into a corner with the disgusting Pokémon lording her stench over the two. The bug quickly scampered behind Chilla as he released a wicked bolt of electricity. Koffing narrowly escaped danger by moving out of the way. She hurled up a blob of unsanitary sludge and fired it at the little chinchilla. The disgusting liquid covered the little Pokémon's face and burned as it seeped into his eyes.

Just as Koffing let out a chortle and began to close in on her enemies, she was suddenly blown away by a blast that struck her side.

Chilla's ears twitched to the sound of Tew's voice calling out for an Energy Ball from Chester. He could hear their footsteps approaching and feel his trainer's arms wrap around him. "Aw, hey buddy, you alright?" the boy said as he tried to rub the sludge out of his Pokémon's eyes with his thumb. However, he only managed to make it worse.

Koffing returned and fired bombs of hard-packed sludge at the team.

"Chester, block them all with an Energy Ball!" Tew quickly ordered.

The hedgehog got in front of everyone and charged up a large ball of energy between his hands, purposefully not firing it and allowing the bombs to collide with it. As the two attacks met, Chester used the Energy Ball to not only absorb damage, but convert the unsanitary power using the natural abilities of the move Energy Ball, which was an attack whose power derived from nature, to cleanse the Sludge Bombs and change it into power. This was a tactic that took him over a year to learn and was done by very few and known by even fewer.

"Fire it upwards!" Tew quickly shouted. "Then use Dual Chop to give it a boost!"

Chester did as instructed and released the ball of energy into the sky. He jumped up and with arms surrounded by the energy of ferocious dragons, punched the Energy Ball straight forward at the unsanitary Pokémon.

"Riolu, grab onto Koffing to make sure she doesn't escape and use double Force Palm!"

Having only spent a day or two with the boy, the Aura Pokémon wasn't at first sure what to make of his orders. But after training with him and seeing the unorthodox, but creative ways he battled with his Pokémon, she soon figured it out. As instructed, Riolu ran and jump, latching herself on Koffing's back, making it hard for the gaseous Pokémon to fly around. She placed one of her paws on her opponent's head and another on her chest, causing her to hang by her feet. Riolu released a shock wave of power from the paw on top of Koffing's head, which was about to send the blue warrior flying high into the air and Koffing straight towards the ground. However, in less than half a second, she used her legs to swing up and around on the Pokémon's body fired a Force Palm into Koffing's chest. The push of the second Force Palm now sent Koffing straight toward Chester's Energy Ball while it also worked as a spring for Riolu to fly up high and land back with Tew and the others, evading the explosion.

And man, was that explosion _huge_. It nearly rocked the entire forest and surely enough, startled a ton of wild Pokémon and a few trainers who were unknowingly nearby. Tew grabbed the Pokémon and shielded them with his body from the brunt of the explosion. Smoke, dirt, dust, and rocks came flying at them, giving birth to a large, mushroom cloud that could be seen from miles away.

The smoke soon thinned out enough for Tew to be able to see a fainted Koffing in a large crater. Green sparks of energy danced around the site, making it unsafe for anyone to get close. However, this only extended to living beings. The trainer took out an empty Poké Ball and tossed it at the Koffing. As he expected, the ball was repelled. This meant that Koffing belonged to someone, as did the Swellow he encountered days ago,

Tew stood up and looked around, not being able to see much through a still somewhat thick cloud of smoke. "Come on out, Tel. I can _smell_ you!"

In the blink of an eye, the smoke around Koffing was repelled by an unseen force. A red beam of energy engulfed Koffing and separated her down by particles, retracting and taking her with it.

"So you can return your Pokémon, but you can't face me?!" Tew screamed. It was as if something had overtaken him. Never before had Chester see his trainer so worked up. And not even _he_ knew why. "Fight me, you coward! Don't make your Pokémon do your shady dirty work!"

"Cute..." a voice said. Tew jumped and turned around to see a man cloaked in a black robe standing behind it, as if he appeared out of thin air. "But Tel is no longer here. It was not even him that returned his Pokémon, but his Swellow."

Tew refused to even look in the man's general direction and turned his back. The two were now back to back.

Now _this, _was someone Chester easily recognized just by his voice. He sharpened his quills and roared loudly as a show of power. However, the man seemed unaffected. In fact, his trainer even ushered for the hedgehog to shut up.

"If you were going to attack me, you would have done it by now." Tew addressed. "So what do _you_ want?"

"Contrary to what you may think," the man sighed deeply. "I am on your side. Entering this barbaric circuit was just a formality."

"All of the years we've spent fighting across the world and now you show up and claim to be on my side?" Tew scoffed.

"Tel has begun to run wild."

"And just who is responsible for that? Hm?" Tew raised an eyebrow, toying slightly with the man.

The hooded figure let out yet another sigh. "I need your help. I do not know what he is planning, but you know just how monstrous he can be."

"Of course I do." Tew folded his arms. "I lived with him for twelve years until you kicked me out."

"We must work together. With our powers combined, we can stop Tel and save this world."

"Why? So you can have it all for yourself?"

The man looked up into the night sky and sighed once again. "You really do have your father's charisma."

"I have _nothing_ of my father's. Do you understand me?" Tew spat angrily.

He let out a small chuckle and unsheathed his hood. "Very well. But I shall leave you with these parting words." The now un-hooded man turned around and leaned down, speaking into Tew's ear. He could feel the man's evil, beady, green eyes burrowing deep into his soul. "You say claim that I only wish to stop Tel so I can have the world as my own. But by entering this competition... what do you think _you're_ working towards? A 'Pokémon Master'? Hmph. The mere idea is a suggestion of placing too much power in one human."

Tew turned around, ready to face the man with all of his anger and might. But just as quick as he appeared, he was gone. However, his words echoed through the area.

"_**Everybody wants to rule the world..."**_


	12. Chapter 12

The Champion Circuit

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 12

It was a brand new day for Tew. He decided to put the confrontation with the horrible man and remembered why he came here: to become a Pokémon Master.

"Alright, gang!" The trainer said as the four Pokémon sat in front of him. "We've been pushing ourselves _really_ hard lately, and we can't let up! We've got to keep training and get stronger. But more importantly, we've got to train Riolu so she can earn her spot back in her group. So today, we're going to do a Double Battle. But this is a little unlike your standard one. See, it's going to be Chester and Chilla under my command against Riolu." He turned his attention to Riolu who was nearly ready to take off and fly to the moon with all of the excitement building up in her. "You think you can handle it?"

Riolu shot up like a firework and took her place on the battlefield. Tew and his two Pokémon quickly took their places as well, while Weedle sat on the sidelines and watched. The boy felt he was just a tad bit too young and inexperienced to partake in a heated training session such as this.

"Ikuzo, Chester, use Energy Ball! Chilla, use Shock Wave!" Tew started off.

Chilla released a large bolt of electricity from his body while Chester's Energy Ball charged down the field with it. Riolu quickly reacted by side-stepping out of Shock Wave's path. She then got wind of the incoming Energy Ball and gripped it with her paw. With all her might, the blue warrior used Force Palm to send the attack right back at her opponents. The bolt of electricity made a u-turn and came straight back for her. She took the chance and charged straight for them, managing to get in front of the Energy Ball she sent back at them.

The attacks collided right in front them and the two jumped up out of the way, which caused a decent explosion. Riolu dashed up from the dust cloud and kicked Chester back down into the ground, taking the advantage of the surprise from the recoiled attack.

"Chilla, use Shock Wave again!"

With no way to dodge it while in midair, Riolu was struck by the bolt of electricity. However, she recovered quickly as she fell to the ground and caught Minccino by his tail. With a mischievous smile, she released a Force Palm that sent the poor chinchilla flying.

Tew growled in frustration as he watched his Minccino go flying behind him. "Chester, use Dual Chop!"

As Chester's arms were surrounded in Dragon-type power, Riolu's fists became as hard as bullets and the two were locked in combat. Chester's Dual Chop against Riolu's Bullet Punch. Both of the Pokémon threw punches that collided with each other, trying desperately to find an opening in the other's form. The hedgehog clawed at her with all of his might, but she blocked it with her right fist and tried to punch him in the gut with her left. Chester slammed one of his claws down, deterring her attack and sending him up in the air a little. He then came crashing down with both claws ready to rip at Riolu. She threw her fists up and the two collided with enough force to kick up a dust cloud.

The cloud petered away to reveal Chester and Riolu going at it like Goku and Vegeta.

The trainer looked back to see Chilla had rejoined the battle as he stood next to him and watched the brutal training session take place.

Chester threw a punch. Riolu pushed it out of the way and then she threw a punch. The hedgehog quickly performed a back bend and allowed the punch to fly right above him. He used the opportunity to grab her and flip her. Not before Riolu managed to place her paw on the Pokémon's back and explode him with Force Palm, however. Both of the Pokémon went flying in opposite directions. But they recovered and charged right back at each other.

"Chilla, get in there with Tail Slap!" Tew ordered, seeing an opening for his other Pokémon to join in.

It was now truly two on one. Riolu was caught between the two of her opponents, fighting desperately not to lose. She was forced to go on the defensive and blocked every hit that the two threw at her. Chilla swiped at her with his tail and she repelled it with a punch, meanwhile ducking to avoid a punch thrown by Chester. As she ducked, she spread her legs and spun, knocking both of Tew's Pokémon off their feet. She then jumped up and came crashing down on the two with Force Palms for each one of them.

Weedle was only allowed to sit there on Tew's shoulder and watch the intense training session take place. He hung his head, which went unnoticed by the boy. All the bug wanted to do was battle, but he recalled a few days ago when they had the fateful encounter with Koffing and how all he did was hide behind Minccino. It made him feel weak and worthless.

"Double Team!"

Chilla created copies of himself that began to rush at Riolu. She slammed a Force Palm on the ground beneath her, which sent the warrior flying high into the air. A few of the doubles were taken out by the explosion, but many remained and soared up in the sky after her.

"Tail Slap!"

Each one of the Minccino came at her with tails ready to slap the crap out of her, but she fought each and every one of them off with flowing punches and kicks. She had improved _very_ much since they all first met. Back when the gang first started training, it was noticeable that Riolu and nearly everyone lacked a decent form when it came to hand-to-hand combat. But five days later and Riolu had the most technique and form out of everyone. She was a graceful fighter, like a Mienfoo or a Mienshao. Her attacks were always calculated and precise with a beautiful flow to them. Chilla's influence on her causes her to be somewhat of a trickster at times, though, as noticed when she caught him by the tail earlier and used Force Palm.

Riolu smashed through a double of Minccino only to be taken completely off-guard by Chester charging through and slamming her to the ground with a Dual Chop attack.

Chester and Chilla returned to their trainer's side as they watched the blue warrior struggle to her feet. Inside her was a fire that burned too intensely to ever go out.

"Ikuzo! Dual Chop and U-Turn!"

The two Pokémon charged down the field with their attacks while Riolu rushed at them with a Bullet Punch for Chester and a Force Palm for Chilla. Suddenly, three stopped in the middle of the field when a bone of energy landed in front of them, interrupting the fight.

Everyone turned and look to see a group of Lucario and Riolu standing atop the trees. The same Lucario that they had the pleasure of meeting that was brutalizing Riolu jumped down before them. He took a look at Riolu, smirked, and then approached the boy. Tew quickly got in his fighting stance, which had also improved greatly over the course of that week and resembled Riolu's. However, the Lucario didn't bother to flinch one bit and the boy took it as the Pokémon only wanting to talk. The Aura Pokémon placed his paw on the boy's chest.

"_We have allowed her to train with you humans, but her time with you has come to a close. She must battle for her spot back into the pack. Tomorrow, at dawn. By the lake."_

With that, the group of Lucario and Riolu dispersed off deep back into the forest.

Riolu tapped the boy's arm and he relayed the message to her. "They want you to come back tomorrow morning. They're gonna test you to see if you can fight your way back into the pack."

Stunned by the news, everyone continued to do their best to train Riolu throughout the day. Tew even joined in a few fights, but didn't possess as much stamina as his Pokémon and had to back out.

**. . .**

_**Later that night...**_

Tew, Chester, and Chilla were all fast asleep in tent. Riolu stood out by the roaring campfire, throwing punches and kicks in the air to perfect her graceful form.

Weedle stuck his head out of the tent and caught sight of the warrior training and was mesmerized by her movements. However, when she noticed him, he quickly retreated back behind the folds.

"Hey," Riolu said, ceasing to throw punches. "It's alright. You can come out here. I don't bite."

Weedle slowly scampered out of the tent with a sullen look on his face and let out a long, depressed sigh.

Riolu invited the bug over next to her in front of the fire. "Why the long face?" she asked.

"It's just that..." Weedle started as he sat down. "You and everyone else get to train all the time and Tew always has me watching. I wanna get in there and fight with you guys! I wanna prove that I'm strong, too."

"Aw, hey..." Riolu said as she put a sympathetic arm around the sad Pokémon. "You're strong and everyone knows it."

"No they don't." he snapped, smacking her arm away. "All I am is a coward!" the bug said with tears forming in his eyes and his voice shaken by sadness. "When Chilla and I were attacked by that Koffing, all I could do was hide! Like a stupid, little bug!"

Riolu could only sit there and watch Weedle beat himself up over it. She offered another friendly arm, but he swatted it away. All he wanted to do was just cry.

"I wish I could just evolve already! Then Tew would use me in battles more. I bet he doesn't even like me."

"Come on!" Riolu stood up, growing slightly angry at the bug. "You just as well as I do that Tew loves you! He _saved_ you from that Swellow. If he didn't love you, you'd be bird poop by now! Sure, he isn't the _brightest_ human I've come across, but he _is_ one of the best. So don't you dare even think for a second that he doesn't like you. He's just doing what he feels is best for you because you're young! He doesn't want you to get hurt."

"But you and Chester and Chilla get hurt _EVERY DAY._ What's the difference with me?! Huh?! Tell me, because I really can't see it!"

Riolu suddenly stopped, catching herself getting worked up. "Let's just both take a deep breath and calm down. Yelling at each other won't solve anything." she sighed with a big breath in and out. "But... I think I know what will! How about I train you a little bit? I'll teach you enough to impress Tew. Then maybe he'll let you train more."

"R- Really?" Weedle stammered, in shock that she would help him after everything he said.

"Of course!" she said, extending her paw out to him. "What are friends for?"

As the agreement was made and a friendship was born, the two trained throughout the night until they tired themselves out. At some point, they knew they had to rest. _Especially _Riolu. She had a big day tomorrow.


	13. Chapter 13

The Champion Circuit

Prologue to the Climb

Chapter 13

Riolu soared high into the sky and crashed down with a ferocious Force Palm attack, only for the Lucario to jump back. The little warrior ricocheted off the ground from the power of her attack, flying helplessly through the air. Lucario formed a large bone of energy in between his paws and extended it, jabbing it into his opponent's stomach and ramming her into the ground.

"I will defeat you!" Riolu cried at the top of her lungs as she stood up and charged after the Lucario.

Lucario held her off with his bone and simply scoffed. "Hmph." He raised it up and smacked her like a baseball.

Home run! Riolu was sent into a tree. But she quickly got up and charged her enemy with a fist as fast and powerful as a bullet. Underestimating her, Lucario had already put his bone away, thinking the battle was over. Imagine his surprise when he took Bullet Punch square to the jaw. He was pushed back slightly, but not enough to fall off his feet.

The Aura Warrior created another bone of energy in his hands and split it up into small, separate daggers of energy. He began whipping them at her like dodge balls. Riolu evaded every single shard of Bone Rush. However, through focusing on evasion, she lost focus on her opponent, which easily allowed him to close in. He reached his arm out and grabbed her neck, holding her up above him. "Silly Pokémon!" he roared. "Don't you know it's useless?"

Riolu punched and kicked Lucario's arm both in an effort to breathe and break free. But every attempt made by her only resulted in him squeezing even tighter. It wasn't long before she soon fell limp and lost consciousness, fading out of reality.

Lucario brought his victim close enough to the point where she could smell the berries he had for breakfast. "You're filthy..." he whispered in a deep, disgusted tone. "The retched stench of _humanity_..." the warrior placed his other paw Riolu chest. "Has no place in this group!"

Riolu's eyes suddenly shot open as she placed both of her paws on Lucario's arm. "Wanna know what happens when you double Force Palm a limb? Let's find out!" She screamed as she exuded a forceful explosion from both of her paws that it rocked both of them.

As both of the two Pokémon stood back up, Riolu could see in her opponent's eyes that he was in deep pain. Lucario held his bloody arm as he tried to stand on both legs, but was brought down to one knee by the pain.

"Hah! She's got him!" Tew cheered. "Go, Riolu!"

Suddenly, another Lucario slowly shuffled onto the battlefield. He appeared to be the eldest one as he used a large stick to support himself as he stood and held one of his arms high in the air. Both Riolu and her opponent saw that this meant for them to stop and they got out of their fighting stances. Many years of living and experience had gave the elder time to harness the ability of the human tongue.

"This battle is over." he said weakly as he put his arm down and leaned on his cane. It was with great dismay shown on his face that he turned to the bloody Lucario and declared him the victor.

Tew and his Pokémon were furious. "What?! What do you mean he's the winner? Riolu beat him!" The elder Lucario approached the boy and held up his paw. Tew nearly smacked it away, but then he thought it would at least be good to know why that judgment was made.

The world around the two faded away into a blue, mystical field made completely of aura. Lucario had entered the subconscious of the boy to talk to him privately. On the outside, it looked as both he and the boy were sleeping standing up. However, on the inside, they were in what felt like a completely different world. "Young man, please, sit down."

Tew did as instructed and seated himself on the soft, blue aura underneath him.

"Your anger is understandable, but please, realize that I only have your Riolu's best interest at heart."

"'Best interest?'" Tew repeatedly angrily. "She clearly won that battle and you're claiming the other Lucario won when he nearly used lethal force to do so! I've seen my fair share of battles- I _know_ the difference between someone winning and losing. I may not know much outside of battles... But I do know at least that! And what do you mean _my _Riolu?"

"Please..." the elder Lucario slowly sat down, trying to pace himself and not fall over. Tew completely forgot for a second that he was talking to an old, wise elder and probably should have been showing a little more respect. "We have, for many years, recognized the fact that the Lucario that Riolu battled with is much more aggressive than anyone else in our group. This is why we put young Riolu up against him, for if they cannot neutralize a lethal force, then they do not stand a chance if threatened by a wild Pokémon. Upon Riolu's return from training with you, we saw that she excelled further than anyone of us ever have. Her battle style, her controlled attacks- she's flawless. It is for this reason that we believe it is within her best interest to stay with you."

"T- to stay with me?" Tew stammered. "What do you mean? Why? Isn't she good enough for the group?"

The Elder nodded and smiled at the young boy. "Therein lies the problem. She is much more than good enough for the group. She's _too_ good for the group, and she still has much more potential. We feel that with you, she can unlock the rest of her potential and become a very powerful Pokémon. More so than she already is. Riolu has passed with flying colors. Will you take her along with you?"

"Of course!" the trainer quickly said. "I love her to pieces- I'll take her any and everywhere I go. But..." he hung his head down in confusion. "What do I tell her?"

**. . .**

"_You must never tell her any of what I've told you today. If you do, her self-confidence will grow dangerously high and she will not become the great warrior she is destined to be."_

"C'mon, Riolu. We're leaving. These guys don't know anything." Tew said abruptly as he stood up with an angry expression on her face. "How **DARE** you all not face the fact that she won?! What? Are you all too proud or something to let her win? Is that it?"

He then paused and looked back at the Elder as he simply nodded at him.

"_You must cause a scene so no attention is drawn to what we have talked about."_

"Is it because she has the smell of human on her? Yeah, well you know what? Humans aren't all that bad! They sure as Hell know a lot more about honor and fighting than you idiots ever will!" Tew began to walk away with his Pokémon, but saw that Riolu wasn't with them. She still sat on the battlefield, in shock that the elder of all members of the group would have made such a ridiculous call. "RIOLU!" the boy screamed back at her. "I said come on! We're going!"

"_She will understandably be very upset, although she may not show it at first. Take her a long way from here. Far away so that she can cry without worrying about being seen."_

Riolu snapped back into reality, slowly got up, and walked over to the boy. As she took her leave with him, she took one last look back at her home. It disappeared in the distance with them going further and further away from it. Once they were far enough and completely out of her family's sight, the little warrior began to let it all out.

"_Console her. Hug her as she hugged you when you two first encountered one another."_

Tew stopped and held her in his arms as she cried hysterically, nuzzling her face in the boy's chest and pounding on his shoulders as if to scream "Why?! Why?!". "It's okay, Riolu. Just cry. Cry to your heart's content. I'm here now."

"_How did you know she hugged me?"_

"_A being's past experiences can be felt through their aura. By you allowing me into your mind, you have shared your life with me."_

"_That means you've seen what I've been through, right?"_

"_Yes, I have."_

"_W- well?"_

"_It hurts. But everyone has their fair share of pain in life. I have lived longer than you can comprehend. Pain is a part of life, young one. It is necessary to experience it and weather it, because the aftermath of pain will bring about happiness if you let it."_

"_So... I just have to keep living. And one day I'll be happy?"_

"_Yes, but you must do your part in creating that happiness. Some things are out of our control, but there are plenty of things within our control that we can use to make our lives happy."_

"_What about Tel?"_

"_He is the one most present in your memories. I sense that you two have much history together. You care deeply about him, do you not?"_

"_I despise him. Almost as much as Hyland himself."_

"_You may tell yourself that, but I can see past all of it. I have looked deep into your heart. You are incapable of hatred."_

"_You're wrong. I'm more than capable of hatred. Don't make me hate you."_

"_Such animosity from you makes me think I made a mistake in allowing you to keep Riolu."_

"_Ah! I'm sorry. It's just... Tel and Hyland are touchy subjects for me. I can get a little defensive sometimes when they're brought up. So... what should I do about Tel?"_

"_Talk to him, Tew. This may be one of your last chances to save him."_

"_But how do I talk to him? Every time we meet, we fight."_

"_Take control of your emotions. Sharpen your anger into empathy and sympathy. Reach out to him. Just like Riolu once she begins to feel the pain of leaving home, all Tel needs is a friend."_

"_A friend..."_

As Tew finally made it back to the campsite, he and his Pokémon sat around the roaring fire, roasting marshmallows on sticks Chilla found himself to avoid him going crazy over what kind of sticks anyone else may have found if they went searching. Of course they were all the same, perfect length. Not too short so they'd have to lean in close to the fire, but not too long so they would have to worry about the stick going ablaze.

"_Oh, before I return you to your conscious state, I must make a request to you."_

"_What is it, Elder?"_

"_I've seen that you like to give your Pokémon nicknames based on their personalities. If you could please consider this for me, I and the rest of the group would much appreciate it if you called her 'Ria.'"_

"_Well sure, of course. But can I ask why?"_

"_'Ria' is the female name to 'Rio,' a Lucario that was paired with a human long ago that was not only the founder of the clan, but the played a part in saving the world and was the first Pokémon to ever Mega Evolve. We have never since named anyone 'Rio' or 'Ria.' It is the biggest honor I have in my power to bestow on someone. Please, consider it greatly. I'm sure she would love it."_

"_I will, Elder. And thank you. Not only for allowing me to keep Riolu, but for your wise words."_

"_May your journeys lead you to the home you're looking for, Tew Hyland. I'm glad I could live long enough to meet you one last time..."_

"_'One last time?' I don't follow... This is the first time we've ever met."_

"_You will know, in due time, old friend. Oh, you will know so much and be so great."_

"_O- okay..."_

Riolu sat next to her new trainer and laid her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead. "There's no need to cry anymore." the boy said, petting her on the head. "You're going to be so much and so great one day, Ria."

Ria looked up at Tew, dumbfounded by what he just called her. He had to reassure her that it's what he meant to said. She quickly broke down into tears of joy as she hugged him tightly.

Weedle felt left out and climbed up on the boy's other shoulder, rubbing his face against his. The tiny bristles of hair on the bug's face tickled him.

"Ah, hey, Stripes! C'mon, that tickles!" Tew giggled.

Chester soon decided to crawl into his trainer's lap and got a free pat on the head.

"Hey, wait..." the trainer stopped for a minute. "If you're all in my lap, then who's roasting your marshmallows?"

The gang looked over to see Chilla trying to hold four sticks at once as he roasted all of the marshmallows. It was only a matter of time that he fell over and lost all of the gooey goodness in the fire. But no one really minded too much. Everyone found it much funnier to see Chilla freak out over being covered in mud.

With that, they laughed the night away. The first week of the Champion Circuit was complete.

**. . .**

Later that next morning, Tew and Chester worked to clear away all evidence of their campsite, pack the tent up, and proceed to get on with their journey. A quick check on the Map app of the boy's Pokétch revealed that he was on Route 1 of the Hokkaido Region. Which he found understandable. Of course the main protagonist was going to start from the proper beginning of the region.

However, he saw he had a notification in the bottom left corner of his screen. He pushed it and played it out loud for both him and Chester to hear.

"_This is an important update for all Pokémon Trainers currently participating in the Champion Circuit. After much talk and consideration, the council has decided to move that every trainer must now earn a total of eighteen badges in order to compete in the Hokkaido Champion Circuit Pokémon League. The rule of only being allowed to capture five Pokémon is still set in place. Happy battling! The fight is on!"_

Which brings us to where we left off... "What the HELL do you mean we have to earn eighteen badges?!"


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: For all who read chapter 13 before I had a chance to update it, there was a typo at the end. Weedle's name is still Weedle. Tew has not yet settled on a nickname for him.**

* * *

><p>The Champion Circuit<p>

Christmas Special (Part 1 of 3)

Chapter 14

"So, guys." MikeV1 said as he sat down with a few characters of the story, sipping tea with them in his crappy little studio apartment. "It's Christmas. I gotta do something awesome. So, I thought I'd just pop in and ask what you guys wanted for Christmas."

"Aw, really?" Tew and Sasha's eyes glimmered with delight as they grabbed each other's hands.

"Oh, well, this is really nice of you." Damien smiled.

"Let's start wiiiiith... Tew! Might as well. You're the main guy. What do you want for Christmas, bud?"

Tew took a moment to think to himself before coming up with the perfect answer. "I want more than one thing!"

Mike groaned and sat back in his chair. "Oh God, I knew you'd pull that. More work for me, I guess. Alright, well, name off the things you want then."

"Let's see..." the boy said, taking his sweet time. "I want my first Gym Badge!"

The author grabbed a folder and put on his glasses, flipping through notes he made about the story. "It looks like the first badge for you would be in... Chip Town. Right at the base of Trial Mountain. It's a Rock-type gym."

"Oh awesome!" Tew said, nearly shooting out of his seat. "I can't wait to see how I'm gonna do!"

**. . .**

The incredible Pokémon Trainer, Tew Hyland, took his first steps into the large, stone-shaped Gym known as the Chip Gym a few days later from when we last left off. "Hello?" he yelled, swinging the doors open and walking into darkness. "Is anyone here?"

The lights suddenly flickered on, revealing a large arena decorated with rocks of all shapes and sizes. A man, just around his age, but appearing older, stepped out of a nearby doorway. He was tall and muscular, like a hunk. His facial hair had started to come in and it made him look like a rugged mountain man. "Can I help ya?" he asked in a southern accent.

God, what Tew would have given to be man-handled by him. But of course he had to set aside his pleasures and at least talk to the guy so he wouldn't think he's strange. "Uhm, hi!" he said nervously. "I'm looking for the gym. I was hoping to challenge it. Am I in the right place?"

"You sher are! Name's Chip. Happy to meet ya!" the man smiled, shaking the boy's hand and nearly crushing it.

"Wait, your name is Chip?" Tew asked.

Chip nodded.

"But the town is named Chip Town..."

Chip nodded.

"So you have the same name as the town?"

Chip nodded.

"But wait, so the town was named before you were born then."

Tew, if you keep asking the man anymore questions, I'm going to have to break his neck and deny you your first gym badge.

"You know what? I suddenly don't feel the urge to ask questions anymore. I challenge you to a battle, Chip!"

The Gym Leader smiled and led the challenger onto the battlefield, both of them taking their places on opposite side. He stuck his fingers inside of his mouth, which faintly reminded Tew of Sasha, and whistled loudly. "This yer first gym battle?" the boy said as he flexed his muscles.

"Sure is." Tew smiled confidently.

A referee stepped out onto the field with two flags, one red on the challenger's side and one green on the gym leader's side. "If this is the challenger's first gym battle, then each trainer will be limited to two Pokémon with only the challenger being allowed to substitute. Send out your Pokémon and begin the battle!"

The challenger stretched his arms and legs, preparing his body for the intense hardship of battling. "Getting right into it, huh? I don't mind that."

"Then let's get started! Go, Aron!" Chip yelled with a toss of his Poké Ball, calling out his first Pokémon.

Tew, of course, called out his faithful partner, Chester. The spiky hedgehog stood on the field, staring at the opposing Aron and flexing his quills as a show of intimidation.

However, the Steel-type Pokémon released a powerful roar that was so mighty, it nearly blew the challenger and his Pokémon away. It definitely set the Chespin straight.

"Well now ain't that cute!" Chip folded his arms and smiled teasingly at them. "Looks like yer Chespin ain't cut out fer scarin'! Let's see if you're better battlers! Aron, use Rock Smash!"

"Excuse me…" Tew growled. "But his name is Chester! Use Dual Chop!"

The two Pokémon charged down the field at each other with powerful attacks. They met in the middle and collided with such force that it sent both of them flying back to their original spots. Chester narrowly managed to land on his feet and stop himself before hitting the wall, having to slam his hands into the ground to reduce his speed as he slid back. The tip of his tail touched the wall of the gym ever so slightly.

Tew looked back at his Pokémon, astonished by the power he was matched with. In fact, matched was a bad word. It was clear that Chester was definitely _overwhelmed_.

Aron had already recovered and didn't seem to suffer much damage from the other side of the attack.

"You ready, Aron? Use yer Rock Polish!" Chip commanded.

The opponent's body began shining brightly as his Speed rose sharply by the second.

"That's it! Keep it up!"

"Chester!" Tew yelled back as his Pokémon returned to the battlefield with quills sharpened slightly out of frustration, but mostly from the rush he gets during battle. "Use Energy Ball!"

The hedgehog charged a green energy ball in between his paws and with the force of a missile from a jet engine, fired it. It shot down the field, leaving the ground beneath it torn in its wake.

"Go, Dual Chop!"

"Head Smash!"

As the Energy Ball had arrived within cubic centimeters of Aron's face, he dashed quicker than the opponent's had ever seen any Pokémon move. As the Iron Armor Pokémon moved over, he slammed his head into Chester, who planned on hitting him with Dual Chop after dodging the Energy Ball. Tew's Chespin slammed into the wall and became trapped deep inside of it.

"Chester!" the challenger yelled as his Pokémon shot out of the wall and back onto the field. He then took a look at Aron, who appeared to be completely fine after the attack. His eyebrow rose in confusion. "I thought Head Smash caused serious damage to the user as well."

The Gym Leader waggled his finger tauntingly and clicked his tongue. "Not when ya got the ability Rock Head. Stops the damage that a Pokémon would take from its own moves! Ready ta give up yet?"

"No way!" Tew cried. Chester roared with his trainer.

"We'll see about that. Aron, run around! Confuse 'em with yer speed!"

"After it with Energy Ball!"

Aron began dashing all around the field. Chester followed close behind, firing Energy Balls, but having no luck in hitting the speedy Pokémon. As the opponent dashed around rocks, the hedgehog broke through them as if they were nothing and kept charging toward him. It was like watching The Hulk chase Captain America in the Avengers, except Chester was pretty small.

Tew's frustration rose to a fever pitch as he tried not to let it overwhelm his judgment. He took a deep breath in and out, trying to think clearly. Aron moved around the field so fast that it appeared to leave after images of itself. A look at that kind of speed and he knew Chester would never be able to catch up. So there had to be a way to stop it… That's when it hit him. "Chester, stand there and focus!"

Even the challenger's Pokémon gave him a weird look after hearing the order. But a few reassuring sentences from the trainer allowed him to calmly stand in the middle of the field with his eyes closed. Aron dashed all around while keeping a close, confused eye on his opponent.

"You are givin' up, aren't ya?" Chip taunted as he smiled brightly. "Then let's finish this. Close in for one last Head Smash!"

Aron did as instructed and began charging at the hedgehog at the speed of light. Through focusing, Chester was able to allow himself to become one with the field around him, being able to hear the footsteps of the speedy Aron.

"Stone Edge!" Tew yelled.

Chester's eyes shot open and with a roar, he slammed his fist into the ground. A few feet away from him, large pillars of rock shot up from the ground in lines leading out to the edge of the battlefield, leaving the two Pokémon enclosed in a tiny arena of rock. He then jumped out of the way and allowed Aron to slam into a rock, flying off of it into his direction.

"Dual Chop it and then use Energy Ball!"

The hedgehog caught Aron flying back from hitting the rock in mid-air and slammed him down with both of his arms bursting with Dragon-type power. While still in the air, he fired an Energy Ball down at his opponent, who surprisingly still managed to stand up after all of that.

"End this with Iron Tail, buddy!" Tew smiled.

"Hey!" Chip yelled angrily. "Git up and don't let 'em win! Use Metal Burst!"

Chester used his hard-as-steel tail to cleave the beam in half and smacked the Iron Armor Pokémon square in the head with a critical hit. The large pillars of rock from Stone Edge faded away, revealing Aron to be fainted.

"Aron is unable to battle! Chespin is the victor!" the referee called, waving a flag in the challenger's direction.

"Yeah!" Tew yelled happily as he high-fived Chester.

Chip returned his Pokémon and sighed. "Thanks, Aron. Ya did yer best." He put the Poké Ball away and took out another one. "You guys are tough! I'll give ya that! But now git ready to face the true gruesomeness of Rock-type Pokémon! Go, Aurorus!"

The Poké Ball exploded with a large, beautiful Pokémon similar to a stegosaurus. It breathed out cold air from its mouth.

Tew couldn't help but chuckle at his opponent's choice. "You know, for a big hunk like yourself, I never would've expected something like Aurorus. I was thinking more like Golem or Excadrill, even." The boy playfully suggested, trying to hide his nervousness from a fantasy he'd had ever since childhood that Chip would be _perfect_ for."

"Don't be fooled by appearances; we're gonna rock you 'till you can't stand anymore!"

Critical hit! Tew screamed internally with sexual frustration and now had major wood!

"Challenger, will you continue with Chespin?"

The boy took a look down at Chester to see he was exhausted and shook his head. "No, I'll switch out." He grabbed a Poké Ball out of his pocket and looked at Riolu through the transparent top. "Aurorus has a four times weakness to Ria's fighting moves. This should be over quick!" However, right as he was about to toss out his choice, a familiar bug broke out of his Poké Ball and stood on the field. "W- Weedle?!" Tew stammered. "What are you doing? I wasn't going to use you for this battle."

"Look, I know you can't understand me because I'm a Pokémon…" Weedle said with his head hung low in depression. But suddenly, something inside him made him stand up taller than he ever did before. "But I can battle! I can battle real good! Ria, Chester, and Chilla all showed me how to be stronger! They've stayed up with me countless nights to help me train and I want to prove to you that I've learned! THAT I'M STRONG!"

Somewhere far off in another world, the VS Wally theme from Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire began roaring…

Somehow, Tew could see his Weedle's ambition to prove himself. The trainer, much to his brain screaming for him not to, decided to give it a shot and placed all of his confidence in his choice. "Weedle…" Tew said as the bug faced the large opponent that looked down on him like lunch meat. He clenched his fists and for some reason, felt a rush go through his veins like he never did before. "Let's work hard together and show these two how powerful you _really_ are!"

"Battle begin!" the referee announced.

Chip broke out into uncontrollable laughter, slapping his knee and nearly falling over. "And ya laughed at me for my choice? That little bugger don't even look like he could hurt a Magikarp!"

It wasn't long before Aurorus started to laugh as well. Even the referee joined in, that dick.

A large smile appeared on Tew's face as he remembered that the battle had officially begun. "Quick, use Poison Sting! Don't let up!"

Taking advantage of the laughter, Weedle sprayed thousands of tiny, sharp needles filled with poison at the large opponent. Aurorus couldn't feel the microscopic needles pierce her skin. But she _did _feel the Poison that followed shortly after, snapping everyone out of their giggling.

Chip was clearly no longer amused. "You little- Aurorus, use Bulldoze!" he angrily yelled with his face growing redder by the second.

The large Tundra Pokémon stomped her feet on the field, sending a massive shock wave through the ground like a tidal wave. It smacked into Weedle and sent the poor bug flying through the air.

"Now, Ancient Power!"

Tew yelled helplessly as he watched his Pokémon get pummeled with rocks in mid-air.

Weedle fell to the ground, nearly unable to get up. Somehow, he did it. Through sheer will of wanting to prove his strength, the Pokémon got up and even roared at his opponent.

"Come on, Aurorus! Don't let some dumb bug beat you! Ancient Power!"

"Use Electroweb!" Tew ordered.

Enjoying the all-around stat increase from the first attack, Aurorus fired larger rocks at her foe. Weedle spun a large, electrically-charged web that caught the rocks and rendered them useless. He then fired another web that fell over his opponent like a blanket and shocked her vigorously, reducing her speed.

Chip growled at the sight of his prized Pokémon being hurt by some bug and grew even angrier. "I'm tired of this! Giga Impact!" he screamed.

With her ability changing the attack into an Ice-type attack and giving it a thirty percent increase in power, Aurorus rushed Weedle with incredible power that he had no way of dodging. All hope was lost for the little Pokémon as his opponent slammed into him like a freight train into a car.

Weedle managed to stay his ground as an odd power built up inside of him. "N- no…" he thought to himself, trying not to let Aurorus overpower him. "All my life I've had to depend on other people and Pokémon to help me! Even my parents… they died to protect me!"

_Back during the fateful encounter with Koffing on Route 1, Chilla was locked in mortal combat with Koffing._

"_Take this!" Chilla yelled as he slapped the gaseous Pokémon into the air with his tail. He looked back at Weedle who still cowered in front of a tree. "Now, Weedle! Use Electroweb!"_

_However, the bug Pokémon was too terrified to move, petrified with fear._

"_WEEDLE!" Chilla screamed. A Sludge Bomb exploded in the chinchilla's back, slamming into a tree. He quickly got up and stood in front of Weedle, blocking the Koffing from getting any closer._

"And when the tables were turned and they needed my help… I just stood there, like a little helpless child… Well, no more. I will NOT LET THEIR SACRIFICES GO IN VAIN!" His eyes began to glow red and a strange, blue energy bled from his body. "NO MOOOORE!"

Aurorus was pushed back by a blinding light that astounded everyone.

"W- Weedle?" Tew said softly as he was completely shocked at what only could be called a miracle that began to take place.

But Weedle was no longer his name. Not anymore. His name was _Kakuna, the Cocoon Pokémon._

"No way! Kakuna?!" the challenger nearly took off into the sky with excitement. "You've evolved!" His Pokétch began vibrating on his arm. He held it up and opened it to see the Pokédex app had an urgent message for him. "And you've got a new move! I'll miss Electroweb, but we can win with this one!"

"Evolution won't save yer hides!" Chip growled. "Anc-"

Suddenly, without any order from his trainer, Kakuna spat a long thread that stuck to Aurorus's head. The Cocoon Pokémon began quickly reeling himself in with his body becoming completely covered in iron. He slammed into the Tundra Pokémon so hard that she fell over.

"WHAT?!" Chip screamed in shock.

"Hah!" Tew smiled happily. "That's a taste of our new move: Iron Defense! Coincidentally, while sharply increasing our Defense, it makes Kakuna much heavier."

The Gym Leader looked and watched as his Pokémon struggled to her feet. "If yer really gonna think that we'll be done in like that, then you've got another thing comin'! Ancient Power!"

"Use String Shot and Iron Defense again!"

Aurorus used her power to hurl rocks at her opponent. Kakuna took the opportunity to spin threads that connected with each one of the stones as he made his way down the field. He, again, smacked into the large Pokémon with a body as hard and heavy as a steel beam.

"That's it!" Chip stomped furiously. "End these rookies with Giga Impact!"

"String Shot!"

Aurorus charged down the field with her opponent dead in her sights. But with a single blink, he disappeared completely, leaving no trace of where he could have gone. Both she and her trainer looked around frantically, thinking he couldn't have gotten far.

"Now, use Iron Defense!" Tew roared.

Kakuna cut the thread he hung from on the ceiling and crashed down onto Aurorus so hard that the force resulted in a massive explosion, leaving his opponent defeated in a crater while he stood at the top, looking down on her as the king.

"A- Aurorus is unable to battle!" the referee said, needing to wipe his eyes and inspect the situation up close. "Kakuna is the victor! That means the challenger, Tew Hyland, is the winner!"

Tew ran and scooped Kakuna up in his arms, nuzzling him close and cheering with tears of happiness in his eyes. "I'm _so_ proud of you! You did it!"

Chip returned his Pokémon and approached the young boy, holding a boulder-shaped badge in his hands.

Tew looked up at the boy and gave him a slightly angered look.

"Erm.. here's yer badge." The Gym Leader reluctantly said as he held his hand out.

The boy smacked it away and held his Kakuna out in front of him, nearly mashing their faces together. "Apologize to my Pokémon for the mean things you said to him during the battle."

Chip crossed his arms and mustered up the ability to apologize, losing points in his pride. "I- I'm sorry fer the names I called ya i-"

Kakuna spat sticky thread all over the boy's face in the middle of the apology. Not wanting to have an angry Gym Leader and no badge on his hands, Tew did the only thing he could think to do. He swiped the badge from the leader's hand and booked it out of the gym. By the time Chip had gotten all of the web off his face, the challenger was looooong gone.

**. . .**

"And… that's how Tew won his first gym badge!" Mike said as he sat his pencil down and leaned back in his chair.

"Wow, so I've got a badass Kakuna now! So awesome!" the young boy rejoiced. "Hey, can I wish for one more thing?"

Mike groaned. "Well, you did wish for more than one thing, so yeah, go ahead."

"I want a lemon."

"Oh, pfft. I'm sure I've got some in my cabinet." The author stood up and began rustling through his cabinet of condiments and unsorted fruit. "How many?"

"Oh no…" Tew said softly. "Not that kind of lemon. I mean… you know. Preferably one with me and Sasha, pleeeease."

Mike began vehemently shaking his head. "Uh, no. I'm not doing that. Never in a million years."

"What if the fans want one?"

"Then… Ugh." Mike groaned again. "I'll leave it up to them. If they want one, I can put one in. I _guess_ I wouldn't mind doing it, but only if they want me to. Which, of course, I highly doubt."

"You've been wrong many times before." Tew pointed out.

"Why are you suddenly so smart?" the author asked. "I wrote you as an idiot in everything except battle."

Tew scratched his head briefly and came up with an answer. "I think that's called character concordance."

"Tew… are you saying big words you saw on Netflix again?" Sasha turned to him.

"N- no!"

"Hah," Mike chuckled. "I knew you were still an idiot."

"Well now you're just being inartistic and piddling."

"No more House of Cards and Doctor Who for you." Mike slapped his character in the back of the head. "Well," he said, turning to Sasha. "Since Tew is leaving his second wish up to the fans, it's your turn, Sasha. What do you want for Christmas?"


	15. Chapter 15

The Champion Circuit

Christmas Special (2 of 3)

Chapter 15

"No, no, no…" Sasha repeated to himself. He stood, half-dressed, in the bathroom of his room at the Pokémon Center, trying desperately to regain control of his hair and straighten it. Strands curled up and stuck out all over the place, nearly making him retch. Along with Morgan, his Audino, the two tried desperately to make his hair work, but not even the fail-safe plan of wads of spit could help the Pidgey's nest that was on his head.

A very inconvenient knocking pounded on his door. Sasha panicked, returning Morgan to her Poké Ball and searched around for something to put on his head.

Hat? No way, he could never rock a hat well.

Shower cap? That would just make him look silly.

A towel? Now there was an idea. All he needed was a towel around his head and one covering his body. It gave off the illusion that he'd just stepped out of the shower and was starting to do his hair. Thinking wisely, the boy shed his clothes and splashed a little bit of water on his slender body, covering up with his two towels and cracked the door open slightly. "Yes?" he said with a smile.

"O- Oh!" the delivery boy stammered nervously, placing his hand over his eyes so he wouldn't see the boy's indecency. "I'm so sorry, Miss! I didn't know you were showering. I can totally come back later." His soft, snow-white face was starting turn redder than a Voltorb.

Sasha looked the boy up and down. He was a little bit taller than the young crossdresser with black hair that reached down to his shoulders. His eyes were a familiar shade of green, similar to Tew's, which reminded Sasha of him, but that was about the only thing familiar about him. The boy appeared to be much more toned with his brown uniform wrapped tightly around the muscles on his arms and hugging the sides of his stomach ever so slightly. He had on shorts, which stopped at around his kneecaps, giving Sasha the perfect chance to steal a peek at his toned calves. "It's okay, you're fine." the boy said with a smile. "Do you have something for me?"

"Um, y- yes, I do." the delivery boy stammered once again, untucking a package from beneath his arm and holding it out to him. "A package from… MikeV1, looks like it. It had express shipping. Looks important."

Sasha happily accepted the package and opened it up. Christmas had come early in the form of assorted beauty products, clothes, and other stylish things that practically saved the boy's life. "Oh my goodness!" he squealed. "This is perfect! You have no idea how much I needed this stuff. Just what a girl could use."

"Um… girl?" the delivery boy suddenly tilted his head in confusion.

"Yeah!" Sasha giggled, thinking he could fool the boy with his usual trick, despite not being in women's clothing. However, subtle coughing and pointing down to his lower region from the delivery boy made him immediately cover up a growing situation with the package, causing everything to fall out. It seems Sasha thought the boy was a little _too_ attractive…

Seeing everything spill out on the floor and noticing the obvious problem the young trainer had, the delivery boy decided to kneel down and recover all of the contents, placing them back in the package. "There ya go." he said, throwing the last beauty product in the box."

Sasha blushed and giggled like a little school girl. "Thank you," he smiled. Wanting to thank him properly, he leaned in to see what the boy's name was on his name tag. Unfortunately, it was something that seemed foreign. "Oh, um, I'm sorry. I can't really read your name on your tag. I'd really hate to pronounce it wrong." the trainer said with a nervous teehee.

"Oh, don't worry about it." the boy smiled. "It's Tel."

"You know," Sasha thought to himself briefly. "Your name is really close to one of my friends'. His name was Tew. Tew Hyland. Hey, maybe you've got a similar last name to him! What's yours?"

Tel managed to hold back the faintest of smiles as he answered the boy's question. "Oh, my last name's Bayer. Looks like he isn't my long lost twin." he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Darn," Sasha playfully giggled. "Oh well. It was worth a shot. Anyway, I've gotta get back to getting ready. I have a Gym Battle pretty soon. It was really nice meeting you!"

"W- Wait!" Tel said as he stopped the boy before he disappeared behind the door. "Do you wanna maybe… grab some coffee sometime? Or a bite to eat?"

The trainer stopped and gave him a warm smile and his signature adorable giggle. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Aw, really?!" the delivery boy's eyes glistened with happiness. He quickly scribbled down his cell phone number on a little slip of paper and handed it to the boy. "Call me after your battle! I should be off my shift by then."

Sasha nodded and watched as the boy left happily down the hall. Man, did he look good from behind.

**. . .**

"The two-on-two Gym Battle between Sasha Lovell and Cliff will now begin!" the referee yelled as he stepped out of the battlefield.

Sasha took a Poké Ball from her pocket and gave it a toss. "Here's my choice! Go, Hershey!"

A Togetic exploded from the capsule and flew around the field gracefully, showing off both his beauty and flying skills.

"Looking good, Hershey." Sasha complimented.

The Gym Leader smiled at the choice of the challenger. "A Flying-type, hm? Smart choice. But how will it fare against mine?!" he roared and threw his Poké Ball sky high.

Much to Sasha's gleeful delight, a Hoppip appeared on the battlefield. It took all of his control to not squeal and run over to give it a hug. "Gotta stay professional." he repeated to himself. "Let's start things off with Peck!" the trainer ordered.

As Hershey began flying low to the field toward his opponent, the Gym Leader gave his order.

"Hoppip, run then jump!"

Hoppip charged toward the fairy and flew high into the air. Hershey gave chase, but quickly lost sight of it.

"Behind you!" Sasha yelled. But it was far too late for his Pokémon to be able to do anything.

"Double-Edge!"

The Cottonweed Pokémon slammed himself into his opponent, sending him crashing into the ground with tremendous force. However, he also sustained damage as well.

"That's a lot of power!" the challenger said, impressed with the Pokémon's might. "Hershey, can you get up?"

Cliff took advantage of the Togetic slowly struggling to his feet and quickly called for another order. "You know what to do, Hoppip. Prepare the field with Energy Ball!"

Hoppip began wildly firing Energy Balls all over the field. Sasha watched to see if there was any pattern to it, but it was truly and erratic play. Any movement from Hershey and he surely would have gotten hit by one of the attacks. He was forcibly confined to his spot in the middle of the field. However, Sasha _did_ notice there weren't any Energy Balls flying on the opponent's side… just his side.

"Something's up…" Sasha thought to himself. "Tew taught me to look for anything in my opponent's movement that could give me an idea of what they were going to do… So what's Cliff trying to do here?"

"Now, Seed Bomb!"

The Cottonweed Pokémon soon ceased the erratic flinging of attacks and floated in the air above Hershey, firing off small seeds where each Energy Ball was fired. The ground was weakened by the earlier attack and the seeds buried themselves in the dirt.

Sasha's eyes widened at the realization of her opponent's plan. "You used Energy Ball to loosen the soil so Seed Bomb would fly right into it without exploding! You even took extra care to make sure your side of the field wasn't ruined..."

Cliff folded his arms and smirked. "Exactly. Although, it doesn't do you any good to have come to this conclusion now."

He was exactly right. Had the challenger seen this plan earlier, he could have stopped Hoppip while he fired the Energy Balls. But it was too late now. "Yeah?" Sasha grinned. "Well Hershey can fly! So we'll just have to win this with him! Use Peck!"

Hershey shot up into the air and rammed the spike on his head into his opponent like a beak, sending him flying into the ceiling and falling back down to the ground. But he quickly pulled up, knowing what the field was like and proceeded to float, staring Hershey in the eye.

"Hoppip, Double-Edge!" Cliff roared.

Sasha clenched his fists in frustration. The Hoppip was coming down the field too fast for his Pokémon to dodge and no attack he had in his arsenal was powerful enough to counter. Then he remembered the rigged field and spawned a golden idea in his head. "Hershey, use Wish!"

Before being done in by the attack, Hershey managed to fire off a beam of light that disappeared into the sky. Togetic, then, was slammed against the wall behind his trainer and knocked out.

"Togetic is unable to battle. Hoppip is the winner!" the referee yelled.

The challenger returned his Pokémon and quickly sent out his next choice, not wasting any time at all. "Go, Morgan!"

Audino broke out of her Poké Ball and was immediately dealt damage by the exploding Seed Bombs dug deep in the field around her.

"Endure it, Morgan! Use Dazzling Gleam on the entire field, then on Hoppip!" Sasha yelled.

Through the pain, Morgan managed to fire a bright blast all around the field that detonated each Seed Bomb. The Gym Leader gasped as he watched his Pokémon become completely engulfed by the blast and fall to the ground, defeated.

"Hoppip is unable to battle! Morgan is the winner!"

Cliff returned his Pokémon and took out his final Poké Ball.

"Wanna know the best part of all this?" Sasha smirked confidently. "Not _only_ did we bust your strategy, buuuuuut... "

A shining light fell from the sky and entered Audino's body, completely healing her of all damage that was dealt to her by the exploding field.

"Now we've got full health, too!"

A slight chuckle escaped the Gym Leader's mouth as he looked up with a menacing look on his face. "You're good, Morgan and Sasha. But let's see how you ladies stand against this Pokémon!"

With a mighty chuck of his ball, a Carnivine exploded from it and roared so loud that it shook the ground everyone stood on.

"I intend to make this quick." Sasha said as he grabbed his necklace and activated the keystone within it. Streams of power began to flow from the trainer to his Pokémon as Morgan started to change shape. "From my heart to yours. Morgan, Mega Evolve!"

Raw power exploded off of Morgan's body and blew her opponent away as she emerged from a blinding light in a beautiful fashion, having successfully Mega Evolved.

"Use Return!" Sasha ordered.

"Stop it with Power Whip!"

As Morgan charged down the field with her fist pulled back, ready to punch Carnivine, out of her peripheral vision, she saw a large, green tentacle swiping straight for her.

"Repel it with Knock Off!"

The Mega Evolved Audino held out her other arm and smacked it away, effectively repelling the attack and knocking off a Miracle Seed as well. She closed in on her opponent and punched him straight into the wall. However, Carnivine stopped himself by smashing his vines into the ground, completely halting his movement.

Cliff smiled deviously as he had his opponent right where he wanted it. "Use a combination of Bind and Giga Drain!"

Morgan found herself trapped in a wrap of vines and squeezed tightly. To make matters worse, tiny pricks and needles in the vines stuck her all over her body and began draining her energy fast. Almost in a second, it took away what Wish had recovered.

The blood in Sasha's veins began to boil as he watched his best friend have the life literally sucked out of her. Through frustration, however, another golden idea came. "Morgan, Dazzling Gleam!"

It was perfect. Morgan didn't need her hands, which were tied up by Bind, to fire Dazzling Gleam. She only needed her mouth, which was carelessly kept free. It opened big and wide, much like Tew's had to one night, and fired a powerful blast that exploded the Bug Catcher Pokémon and won her and her trainer the battle.

"Carnivine is unable to battle. That means Sasha Lovell is the victor!"

"We did it!" Sasha cheered with her friend as she returned to her base state.

The Gym Leader approached what he thought was the young girl and handed her a badge shaped like a seed. "There you go, Miss. The Seed Badge. You've definitely earned it."

The challenger happily accepted the badge. "Thank you, Cliff. My Pokémon and I had a lot of fun! I'd like to stay and chat, but I'm a little late for a date." And with that, Sasha was out the doors in a flash, ready for his get-together with the delivery boy, Tel.

**. . .**

"No, no, no." Tew shook his head. "I'm definitely _not_ okay with this at all."

"Sorry, bud." MikeV1 said with a sip of his tea. "Not your story to write!" he began rubbing his own face in all of the wonderful reviews he would get after people read the chapter. _ESPECIALLY _the beautiful reviews he would get from StattStatt, SDProductions, Ransomenote, We're All Okay, and Siphon 117. "Mwahahahaha!" he cackled loudly, which made Tew really want to hit his creator.

"I'm so glad I won't remember any of this once I get back in the story." Tew grumbled.

"W- Wait," Sasha stammered, trying to get a word in edgewise. "Should I be scared or something? Who's Tel and wha-"

However, Mike quickly cut her, I mean, _him_, off and turned over to Damien. "Well, Tew wished for his first gym badge and something very inappropriate, and Sasha wished for clothes and her first gym badge. What do you want for Christmas, Damien?"


	16. Chapter 16

The Champion Circuit

Christmas Special (Part 3 of 3)

Chapter 16

"Let the two-on-two Gym Battle between Damien Stein and Chip begin!" the referee announced loudly.

Damien folded his arms and assessed the situation carefully. "If Cliff is a Rock-type Gym Leader, then no doubt I have the obvious advantage. Let's go, Thantos!" he said with the toss of a Poké Ball.

A small, blue Gibe, who was given the name Thantos by his trainer, appeared on the field. The little dragon flashed a serious look at the Gym Leader, which only made him groan.

"Aw, come on. Another little tyke? Man, this is worse than that Tew kid and his Weedle." Chip complained.

The challenger's arms quickly unfolded, following by his ears perking up slightly as he lost his serious attitude. "W- wait, did you just say Tew?"

Chip nodded. "Yeah, little bugger came in here with a Chespin and Weedle a few days ago and completely whipped our hides!"

"So Tew was here a few days ago…" Damien smiled. "Ah, wait! How'd he beat you with a Weedle?"

Suddenly, the Gym Leader took the Poké Ball he was holding in his hand and put it back in his pocket. He looked up at the young challenger with an angry expression on his face and the entire tone of the battle changed. "I'm gettin' sick 'n tired of bein' whipped by you lil' tykes…"

It was as if the air grew thick with tension and aggression. Damien didn't like where things were going with this.

"I'll show you what a _real_ Rock-type Pokémon can do! Go, Gigalith!" Chip yelled with a toss of his other Poké Ball.

A large, horrendous Gigalith appeared on the field, stomping lightly with enough strength to throw both the challenger and his Pokémon off their feet. "Agh, that's not fair!" Damien said as he carefully stood up. "I don't care if you're mad; you have no right to take it out on us! This is my first Gym Battle! Chill!"

"Aw what's the matter? Ya scared?" Chip folded his arms and smirked at the boy.

Damien's fists began to clench as short-tempered anger now built up inside of him. "No, what I meant was it isn't fair to _you_ to have to be so out-classed by us! Thantos, use Dig!"

Gible quickly disappeared underneath the ground, burrowing his way beneath the field.

"Sher are actin' like yer scared! Bulldoze!"

"Dragon Breath!"

Gigalith raised both of his front legs and pounded a shock wave through the ground that flung Thantos back out of his hole. As the little dragon flew through the air, a gust of breath shot up from the ground beneath the Compressed Pokémon and stung his body, burning it and licking it like the flames of a fire.

"Now, Flamethrower!" Damien yelled angrily.

Thantos landed on the ground safely and exhaled a blast of fire that engulfed the large Pokémon, along with the Dragon Breath from earlier, and began dealing serious damage. Gigalith thrashed about with a Burn, trying to get the flames off his body.

Chip also began thrashing about, stomping his feet and screaming profanities like a little child. "Use Hyper Beam!" he called out of sheer anger.

Unprepared for the blast, Thantos and Damien had no time to react as the blue dragon was swallowed whole by the beam and exploded with enough power to take out a tank. The flames kept singing and burning Gigalith's body, causing him to fall over in defeat. As the smoke cleared from the explosion, Thantos had also fallen to his opponent's power.

The referee stepped out onto the field and inspected both Pokémon with a quick look. "Both Gible and Gigalith are unable to battle. This results in a draw with each trainer only having one Pokémon remaining. I suggest you both calm down before something like this happens again."

Both trainers returned their Pokémon.

"You shut yer yap, you referee!" Chip barked with enough rage to scare a small child.

As Damien witnessed the out-of-control anger of the Gym Leader, he quickly realized that he had been very hot-headed during the first battle. With a deep breath in and out, he calmed himself and began to think more clearly. "Had I not been so angry, I could have predicted Gigalith's Hyper Beam." The boy held Thantos's Poké Ball up and saw the little dragon laying there exhausted through the transparent top. "I'm sorry, Thantos. But don't worry- what you did won't be forgotten. Because now its time to turn up the heat!" He quickly stepped forward with a new resolve and tossed out his next choice. "Go, Nu Wa!"

A female Sceptile broke out of her Poké Ball and appeared on the challenger's side of the field.

"Aqua Jet!" Chip cried out as he summoned a Kabutops from its Poké Ball.

Damien saw right through the Gym Leader's over-power strategy and knew exactly how to deal with it. "Detect!"

Nu Wa closed her eyes and used her surroundings to her advantage. The subtle change in the air around her allowed her to quickly pick up that her opponent was near her. She quickly jumped out of the way and opened her eyes to see Kabutops dashing beneath her.

"Now, Double Kick!"

The Wood Gecko Pokémon gracefully crashed down on her opponent's back and delivered two swift kicks in a row. However, she was quickly pushed back by a Scald attack that sent her flying through the air.

"Keep going and use Bullet Seed!" Damien yelled.

Nu Wa regained her composure mid-air and fired a barrage of small seeds from her mouth that rained down on Kabutops in a rapid succession. Chip was surprised that the gecko could pull off an attack in that state, but allowed his anger to cloud his judgement once again.

"After it with Night Slash!"

Damien took a quick look at Kabutops and saw how much it struggled to dash into the air. "That Kabutops is on its last leg…" he smirked. "We've got this, Nu Wa! Use Leaf Blade and end it!"

The two Pokémon collided in mid-air with their sharp scythes slashing vigorously at each other. But in the end, Nu Wa reigned victorious as she quickly slammed her opponent into the ground, which resulted in his defeat.

"Kabutops is unable to battle! Damien Stein is the winner!" the referee announced.

Damien wiped the sweat from his head and exclaimed happily with his Pokémon. "Haha, we did it!"

Chip had already taken his leave from the field, too angered to even give the challenger his badge. The referee, instead, approached the young challenger and handed him a small badge that resembled a tiny rock. "I apologize for Chip's behavior. He can be a little much sometimes. But you defeated him, so it is my honor to present you with the Stone Badge."

The challenger happily accepted the badge and kindly thanked the referee before departing from the gym with his head held high in happiness.

"Excuse me!" a voice called out to him as he walked down the road later in the evening. Damien turned around to see a boy rushing toward him. He was a little shorter than him, albeit, but cute none the less. He had familiar green eyes with a muscular build and black hair that fell down to his shoulders. The boy caught up to him and tried to catch his breath before speaking. "I saw your battle at the Chip Gym earlier today. It was really good!"

"Oh, thanks." Damien quickly said, feeling somewhat nervous around the new boy. He tried to walk away, but he just kept talking.

"You're a really good trainer!" the odd boy continued saying. "The way you cleared your head and beat the Gym Leader was so cool!"

"Th- thanks." the trainer said, feeling a little flustered. "I should really be going." he said in an effort to try and leave.

The boy looked sort of sad and started talking again. "Aw, what's the rush? I wanted to battle you! I just caught this new Pokémon and I was hoping that I could test its strength. If you beat me, I'll let you be its friend! Its sort of… picky about who it hangs out with."

"Erm…" Damien said, not knowing what to do. He soon figured out that the relentless boy wouldn't give up unless he battled him. "F- fine. I'll battle you, but you can keep your Pokémon."

"Alright!" the boy cheered. "Hey, before we start, what's your name?"

"Damien Stein. And yours?" he said as the two took their place on the battlefield in the street.

"Tel. Tel Cambridge."

Damien chuckled to himself slightly as the name reminded him of his rambunctious friend that he met weeks ago. He quickly regained his serious attitude and called out Anbu, his Lucario.

"Ah!" Tel's eyes lit up with glee. "That's a nice Lucario you have there!"

"Thanks."

"Anyway," the opponent said as he grabbed am odd-looking purple ball from his pocket with an 'M' on it. "Here's my friend!"

The Legendary keeper of time, Dialga, exploded from the ball and towered over Anbu and his trainer, looking down on them with a mighty roar.

Damien nearly fell over at the Legendary Pokémon's might, completely shocked by what was standing in front of them. "What?!" he screamed aloud. "A Dialga?! But how di-"

"Nu-uh." Tel smirked, waggling his finger. "That's a secret! Now come on, you said you'd battle us."

Damien felt the need to back away slowly and make a break for it as he stared the Temporal Pokémon dead in its red eyes. But he stood his ground and grasped the armlet on his arm with his hand. The keystone within it glistened with a powerful light that shot streaks of energy from his body to Anbu's. "A power tempered by years of training! Anbu, Mega Evolve!"

Anbu's body became enveloped in a mystical aura as he changed shape and form. The power exploded from his body and the aura blew Tel's hair back as it expanded outward. Anbu stood, bursting with power and eyeing Dialga, having successfully Mega Evolved.

"Anbu, use Close Combat!" Damien ordered.

"Roar of Time!" Tel chuckled.

Damien's Lucario jumped up and began his valiant effort to take down the Lord of Time, but was completely blown away by a powerful roar that shook the world beneath them. Anbu slammed against the ground, reverting back to his original state, defeated.

"A- Anbu, return." The trainer said as he recalled his fallen friend back to the Poké Ball.

"Well, well." Tel said as he approached the young boy. "Not half bad! Most people would have run away. Anyway, a deal's a deal, right?" He clapped his hand and summoned his Dialga to move closer to the young boy and held his head down to eye level. The dragon's breath its nose was enough to push Damien off his feet. Dialga leaned in closer and allowed the boy to put his hand on his face.

It was so odd to Damien that he was actually able to pet the Temporal Pokémon on its large face.

"So? What do you think?"

"Th- this is… incredible." Damien said as he continued petting the large Pokémon. It seemed to like the way that his hand went over its face. "I never thought I'd become friends with a Dialga before."

"Wanna play?"

"Play what?" he asked, giving the Legendary tamer a weird look.

"Tag? Fetch? You name it."

The two played the evening away, tossing a ball down the street and watched the gigantic Pokémon stomp down after it. It was probably one of the weirdest, but one of the most exciting days the trainer ever had.

**. . .**

"I officially hate you." Tew spat as he continued to pout like a small child.

MikeV1 just shrugged his shoulders and let out a tired yawn. "Well, now that you've all got your Christmas wishes, I guess its time I get back to the story."

At that moment, the door to Mike's apartment flew open with a foot kicking it and Tel poked his head in with a sinister smile. "Did someone say 'Let's kill Tew?'"

"No. No one said that." Mike groaned.

Tel hopped up on the author's lap and began sucking his thumb, similar to what a young kid would do. "Santaaaaaaaa," he whined. "You didn't ask me what I wanted for Christmas!"

"Ugh." the Author groaned again. "Fine, Tel. What do you want?"

"I want to kill Tew." he said in a deep, uncaring tone, looking straight at Tew.

"You know I can't let you do that."

"Aw come on!" Tel yelled. "You let Tew hook up with Sasha, a Kakuna beat an Aurorus, and a ton of other crap, but you won't let me kill him?"

"Nope. Sorry."

Tel sat there for a second before opening his mouth again. "Fine. Can I at least have an ice cream cone? Preferably vanilla."

**. . .**

Tel sat atop a large building in a densely populated city in the evening, looking down on everyone shuffling and bustling about as he enjoyed a vanilla ice cream cone.

"I'm coming for you, Tew Hyland."

Tew suddenly appeared next to Tel and sat down. "Hey, dude."

"What?!" Tel jumped, losing his ice cream to the world below. "What are you doing here?"

"Mike wrote me in here. He also told me to tell you that this little thing we're doing right here isn't canon. Everything else that happened, like you and Sasha and Damien and the gym badges was canon though. Just not this." Tew explained.

"So what are you doing here?"

Tew took out two Santa hats, placing one on his head and the other on Tel's, to which he grumbled, but soon accepted.

"Merry Christmas from your favorite protagonist!"

"And a happy New Year from your soon-to-be favorite antagonist! I'm _so_ killing Tew."

"Not if I kill me first!" Tew said, flinging himself off the ledge of the building.

Tel watched as his enemy splattered all over the sidewalk. "He can't be that stupid... Can this _PLEASE _be canon?"


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Credit to PokeThatPokemon for Grace Elliot! :)**

* * *

><p>The Champion Circuit<p>

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 17

Days after earning his first Gym Badge, the Pokémon Trainer Tew Hyland finds himself in the beginning of what appeared to be an easy double battle on Route 2, the pathway that led to the start of Trial Mountain. He quickly took two Poké Balls from his pocket and juggled them in his hand confidently as he looked at his opponent with a slight sneer that was overflowing with the certainty he would win. "Hey, you just let me know if I'm being too rough, alright?"

His opponent, a little girl he had recently met named Grace Elliot nodded slightly. Word on the streets was that she was the youngest challenger there, being only twelve years old. Just because she made it in the Champion Circuit, however, didn't exactly impress Tew or many other trainers for that matter. For starters, she wasn't the most terrifying person you'd meet. She was understandably shorter than Tew with a turquoise, long-sleeved top and denim jeans to cover her skinny body. The wind blew, carrying her long, brown hair in back of her gently. It was her soft, innocent green eyes that really sealed the deal and made him realize she was just a kid.

Preceding this, Tew originally found her sitting on a stump and sketching a few Pokémon. Not really noticing he was light-footed, he unintentionally snuck up on her and gave her quite the scare. After calming her down and reassuring her that he wasn't some kind of criminal, being the genius that he is, he challenged her to battle, thinking it would make things better.

It didn't.

Originally, the girl was about to take off and leave, not wanting any contact with him, but he practically twisted her arm for her to stay and battle. Technically, this wasn't true, because Tew had the physical strength of an emaciated toothpick. But after two minutes of pleading and decided to up the challenge to a double battle, the girl finally accepted. While nervous on the exterior, her interior held a seasoned trainer within that was burning to get out and beat this stupid kid so she could be on her away.

"Go, Ren and Kite," the little trainer said as she nervously tossed her Poké Balls into the air. A Quilava named Ren appeared in front of her alongside a Vibrava named Kite. Even the nicknames she gave her Pokémon were adorable.

Tew folded his arms and watched happily as his opponent's hands seemed to tremble slightly. He looked down at the balls in his hands. Ria and Kakuna looked back up at him through the transparent top. He then took another glance out on the field and swapped both of the Poké Balls. "Don't worry, Grace. We're gonna take it down a notch, alright? I'll battle you with my best friend and this Pokémon I just caught. Go, Chester and Shido!"

This was all unintentionally part of her plan to beat him, mind you. Shy and almost terrified, the girl came off as, well, a kid. But inside… Let's just say big things come in small packages. Tew came to realize this all too well one late night with Sasha.

As the capsules flew through the air, Chester broke out in a flash of green light and landed on the field in front of his trainer, ready to go. He flexed his quills, as usual, which made the girl jump a little. Out of the other ball, an Oshawott by the name Shido, appeared next to him and unsheathed his scalchop. The otter skillfully grasped it in his paw and began performing precise, but at the same time, graceful movements, as if he were practicing sword play.

Tew had recently acquired Oshawott upon leaving Chip Town. It was at a small watering hole where it, and many other members of its evolutionary family had gathered. The trainer, of course, disturbed the peace and was immediately attacked by them. He briefly considered capturing a Samurott, but thought it would be wrong to take one of the elders from the group. So he took a small child instead. And that's how he got Shido. Kidnapping, ladies and gentlemen.

Oshawott didn't seem to mind too much, though. He put up a great and honorable fight in battle before falling to Chester. The group seemed to accept the loss and move on without much care, which is the exact opposite of what families in our world would do. Over the course of a few days, Tew bonded with Oshawott and got to know him better. He even sparred against him a few times. Oshawott had very swift and precise movements, but were also graceful and beautifully executed. It resembled Ria's style of fighting, in a way. This earned him the nickname "Shido", after the word "Bushido".

The trainer knelt down to his Pokémon before the battle began. The three huddled up and began their little pow-wow session. "Hey, guys, listen. Let's go easy on Grace over there, alright? She's really young."

Both Chester and Shido nodded and returned to the battlefield. However, Chester briefly stopped before going back and wagged a finger up at the human boy.

Tew placed his hands on his hips and groaned. "Chester, shush. I know I need to not get frustrated."

The hedgehog's arms folded and he gave the boy a skeptical look.

"Aw, come on!" he pouted. "Sure, I'm a little manic, but I know how to control myself! Watch, we'll be fine." the boy shrugged his shoulders. Truthfully, he only said that so his Pokémon would get off his back about it.

Chester shook his head disdainfully as he sat his concerns aside and joined Shido on the field.

Tew had recently cycled from a depressed state to a manic state. This happened before the battle with Chip and Chester picked up on it, mainly due to the boy's change in battle style and how he carried himself. When manic, Tew had the mindset of "invincibility", which made him think there was no way he could lose or even die for that matter. This made him take many more risks. One of them being judging an opponent's strength based on appearance.

"Are you ready to start?" he called out.

Grace nodded nervously again. Her tiny hands trembled and her little knees began to quiver, which only added fuel to the confident Tew fire.

"Alright, we'll let you have the first move." Tew yelled, not even bothering to get into his usual battle stance. He stood, relaxed with his hands in his pockets, letting his mind trail off elsewhere.

Shido looked back and took notice of his new trainer's uncaring disposition. "Is he always like this?"

"No," Chester sighed. "He's just kinda out of it right now. I'll explain later."

"Ren, use Rollout, and Kite, use Feint Attack!" Grace ordered loudly. Her voice quickly changed from the innocent, soft tone to a powerful, commanding yell that struck fear into Chester and Shido.

Ren the Quilava curled up into a ball and charged down the field at an incredible speed. He possessed enough power to hit both of his opponents into the air and make Tew nearly crap his pants. The trainer watched as his Pokémon flew helplessly in the air, completely unprepared for the head on attack. Vibrava then appeared from the shadows and slammed Shido into the ground. The attack had enough force behind it for the little otter's body to ricochet back up and collide with Chester who was in the process of falling down.

"What in the world?!" Tew said as he took his hands out of his pockets and donned his battle stance. "Are you two okay?!" he quickly snapped out of his confident streak and started to grow angry.

Chester and Shido managed to get up and back onto their feet.

It was as if something had suddenly changed in the little girl. Ten minutes ago she was a quiet, anti-social, nervous little person. But now… Tew didn't know what to think. Her eyes glistened with life as she kept calling out order after order, not even giving the boy any time to breathe.

This was definitely not the little girl he pestered to battle. No, this was an experienced trainer. One that Tew should not have taken lightly.

Ren revealed his necklace with a Charcoal hanging from the thread around his neck. He swung it up into his mouth and released a powerful, fiery blast from his mouth that completely engulfed Chester. The flames licked his body profusely as he struggled to break free. Through will, power, and the fact that he was equipped with an Eviolite he managed to summon enough power within himself to break free from the blazing fire.

Meanwhile, Shido unsheathed his scalchop just in time to repel an incoming Dragon Breath. As the otter was now entirely focused on guarding and Chester had just gotten the flames off him, the little girl saw an opening.

Grace ran her fingers through her long, flowing hair and flipped it from her shoulder to behind her. Inside of her now was that little girl. On the outside, the seasoned trainer that slept had finally awoken. "How's that?" she sneered. "Taking me seriously now?!"

Tew closed his jaw and growled viciously in frustration, seeing that his Pokémon were already low on health even though the battle had just begun. "You're about to find out!" he barked voraciously. "Chester and Shido, combine Stone Edge and Icy Wind!"

With a mighty roar, the hedgehog fired sharp, jagged stones that were met in the middle of the field by a cold, bone-chilling wind that froze them. Now daggers of ice, they headed straight for the opposing team. But a quick order from his trainer sent Ren out in front of Kite and blocked every last chilled stone with Rollout.

Tew saw the volcanic mouse go on the defensive with Kite remaining behind him and much like Grace did earlier, saw an opening and tore into it quicker than Zeus tore out of Cronus's stomach. "Quick, Chester, use Stone Edge down the middle of the field!"

The hedgehog roared and dug his fist deep into the ground with a powerful punch. Large pillars of rock shot up in a straight line that traveled down the field. The ground beneath Ren rumbled as he was quickly sent flying by a large pillar erupting from it.

"After it with Dual Chop!" the boy ordered. For him, the battle grew more and more heated. Energy soared through his body.

"Counter with Bite!" For her, the battle grew more violent. Being so young, she unfortunately hadn't experienced a harsh battle such as this one before.

Chester locked onto Quilava falling and dashed upward, ready to do some chopping. However, Kite appeared on the scene just in time to sink his teeth deep into the hedgehog's arm, causing him to cry out it pain.

Then it happened. Blood was drawn on accident in what was supposed to be a friendly battle. Tew was instantly offended, Kite was immediately grossed out, Grace was suddenly shocked, and Chester was extremely terrified. For a long time, the Spiky Nut Pokémon had an irrational fear of blood. He thrashed wildly until Kite was flung off and into the ground.

Tew watched little droplets of blood fly from his best friend's arm and inside him, all Hell broke lose. Chester, now having been frightened by his own blood, disregarded all advice he gave his trainer earlier.

Grace recognized the fact that something within the boy snapped. His excited, green eyes were now nothing short of a ravenous emerald that looked ready to tear them apart. This was now a battle they may be fighting to live. "Flamethrower!" she quickly called out. On the outside, she was composed and ready. But inside, she was terrified.

Seeing that his trainer wanted to take advantage of the confusion, he exhaled a blast of fire that struck Chester. Seeing his partner in trouble, Shido quickly let out a cold breeze of air to cool him off.

Grace's eyes narrowed as she this time saw not one, but two openings. "Quick, Ren, Rollout! Kite, Dragon Breath!" she hoped that this would end the battle so she could get out of there.

Tew's frustration had about exploded inside of him. His anger reached a fever pitch as he literally started getting a fever that was so hot, his forehead turned a bright pink. "Energy Ball and Razor Shell! NOW!"

Chester fired a ball of energy that pushed back Kite's breath and exploded against him. Shido allowed his opponent to close the gap between them. In the blink of an eye, he unsheathed his scalchop and struck his opponent with a samurai's grace, sending him flying back into a collapsed Vibrava.

"I've had just about enough of this!" the boy growled. Blood pumped wildly through his veins as he called out his next moves. "Chester, Stone Edge on yourself! Shido, prepare your Razor Shell!"

The hedgehog fired sharp, jagged stones in the air directly above him and maintained his t-stance while his partner readied a Razor Shell attack with his scalchop. The stones fell down perfectly on Chester's body, creating his stone armor which shocked the girl. She began trying to get her Pokémon up, but they just didn't have the energy to move fast enough. Returning them was an option, but that would disgrace the battle. Besides, there was still a chance she could win if her Pokémon could muster the strength to get up.

"Shido, use Icy Wind on Chester and hand him your Razor Shell!"

Shido exhaled a blast of cold wind on Chester's upper body and completely froze it, creating an armor that was now composed of jagged rock and sharp edges of ice. He then handed over his Razor Shell attack to the hedgehog.

"Now," Tew screamed angrily. "Charge at them! Razor Shell in one hand and Dual Chop in the other!"

"Guys, hurry! Get up!" Grace called out desperately.

Ren and Kite were still struggling to get off each other. Try and try as they might, they just didn't have the energy left. The two of them looked up to see what could have only been described as a monstrosity charging straight at them like a freight train. Chester slammed into the two Pokémon, causing a massive explosion as he crashed both a Dual Chop and Razor Shell into his opponents. The force rocked the ground beneath them and scared off the wild Pokémon in the area.

The smoke began to clear enough for the trainers to see Ren and Kite defeated in a crater of ice with Chespin falling over on top of them. It seemed the blast had an unfortunate recoil that took him out as well. However, Tew's Oshawott was still standing, practically frozen in awe of the spectacle that just took place, which meant that he was the victor.

Grace fell to her knees. Small tears stained her cheek as she picked up her Pokémon and returned them to their capsules for a rest. She looked back up at the trainer who was still in his fit of rage and became paralyzed with fear. Her legs, nor her arms, would respond to her brain telling them to move- move before the monster gets you!

As Tew looked down on the loser with eyes of a vengeful god, he suddenly realized something. He was manic. _Very_ manic. And there was a poor, frightened little girl scared stiff of him. The savage beast began to fade from the boy's eyes as he honestly acknowledged his mania. He allowed himself to be brought back to reality. His forehead was on fire and he was drenched in his own sweat. He could only imagine what the girl must have felt, having to battle him in this state. There were no words on the planet that could exclaim how sorry he was and make her feel better. But he knew he had to try.

"H- hey…" the boy said as he approached her slowly. The girl could only sit there, numb to the nerve with anxiety. With a gulp and tears forming in his eyes, he knelt down in front of the girl on the ice, nearly slipping. "I'm sorry if I-"

Suddenly, Chilla's dirty senses began tingling. He broke out of his Poké Ball and immediately detected a problem: Grace's tears. The chinchilla ran up her little body and perched himself on her shoulder, wiping the tears away from her face. At first, she sat there, still terrified. But she soon became overcome with the irresistible urge to giggle uncontrollably. Turns out Chilla's tail was very ticklish.

Inside, the boy breathed a sigh of relief that she was able to move again, but outside, he still knew that there was an issue, and it was him. "I'm sorry, Chilla likes to clean things," he said, intentionally avoiding having to apologize for his mania, which he hated doing. Because he was consciously aware of the evasion of the subject, he swore profusely at himself in his head.

The girl still seemed hesitant to talk to him. But she looked at the boy's eyes and saw how sorrowful they were. She began to instantly calm down and took a few deep breaths to regain her composure, fanning herself with her hands. Once she stopped, she finally spoke up. "Its fine," she said, holding back a faint smile.

Chilla hopped off the girl's head and began trying to clean the ice from the ground beneath his trainer. However, unless his tail were somehow heated, he wasn't going to get anywhere. Except maybe on a curling team.

Tew held out his hand and wiped the forming tears from his eyes. "Here, let's start over. I'm Tew Hyland." He smiled brightly at the young girl.

She jumped slightly at the sudden movement, still not used to him being so nice. He pulled his hand away, obviously saddened and remorseful for what he did. The girl slipped her small hand into his and shook it gently. "I'm Grace Elliot," she sniffled with a small grin. "It's really nice to meet you." Ms. Elliot then raised a playful eyebrow at the boy in an effort to use humor to comfort the situation with her smile grew bigger. "You wouldn't want to battle, would you…?"

"Heck. No." the boy said as he giggled lightly. Grace could now see that the boy meant no harm to her. His head tilted slightly and he stretched his arms out wide. "Friends?"

"Friends." Grace nodded, wrapping her arms around the boy and sharing a warm, swearty hug with him.


	18. Chapter 18

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 18

The campfire roared intensely before the two trainers, releasing tiny, but beautiful embers that floated up to the sky. Thanks to Ren's fire, it provided the two with enough heat to not have to sit close to it.

"So," Tew said as he walked over and sat next to the little girl. "Where are you from?"

Grace looked over at him, turning her attention away from her roasting marshmallow over the fire. "I'm from Asperita City in Unova."

"Really?" the boy asked, puzzled. "I've never heard of that place before."

"Well, Asperita City is kind of small. There isn't much there."

Tew shook his head. "I mean Unova in general. Where's that at?"

The girl gave him a surprised look, as if he was from some other world or something. "You've never heard of Unova before? That's so strange…" she said, trying to wrap her twelve-year-old mind around that concept. "Everyone I've talked to knows about it."

It was true. Nearly everyone the little girl talked to before the two met had at least heard of Unova. Grace explained how it was famous for its industry and provided a lot of the world with the toys and tools they had today, but the boy just looked at her with genuinely surprised face.

"I've never even heard the name Unova until right now." he chuckled. "I'm from the Chigoku Region. You ever heard of that?"

"Nu-uh." Grace shook her head, biting into a smore she prepared. "That's so weird how we've never heard of each other's home regions before."

Tew shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and laid back on the soft grass, looking up at the starry night sky. "Eh. I don't think it's that weird. My roommate was from Kalos and I had never heard of that place either." he stated. Then again, it never occurred to him that the reason he may have never heard of those places was because he was somewhat of an idiot. "I guess there's tons of things out there that we haven't found yet."

The girl looked back at him and smiled, laying down next to him. "I guess you're right." she giggled. "There's a lot of stuff out there. Especially here. Sometimes there's just so many people that it overwhelms me."

"What do you mean?" the trainer asked, looking over at his new friend.

"Its just that…" she paused briefly, not wanting to talk about the thing that ailed her most throughout her life. "I never knew there were so many Pokémon trainers in the world. Being in the middle of them all in that big crowd in front of the Wild Dome a few weeks back… it was just so intense. It was really hard to breathe." Just the sheer mention of the thousands of trainers that were gathered that day made her tremble.

"Hmph. I guess I wouldn't really know." Tew said, flashing back to how he originally left the big crowd and met Damien. Then he started to think about Damien again. "So what about it all made it hard for you to breathe?" he asked, needing to change the subject to avoid his feelings. He had a history of growing attached to people fast, and Damien, nor Grace, were exceptions.

The girl fell quiet for a minute. She struggled internally with herself to give her emotions words. "I guess I've just always had a big problem with crowds. Or even just talking to or being around people, really. It's scary." Unintentionally, the little girl suddenly found herself starting to open up to the boy. "I have three younger siblings back at home; they're all triplets. They look up to me and sometimes they all wanna just… I dunno, hang out with me I guess. I like them and they're fine when they hang around me. But when they bring their friends along I just… sorta shut down. Sometimes I wish they wouldn't have friends, but then I feel really bad. What kind of sister wouldn't want their little siblings to have friends?"

Tew was about to say something, but stopped the second he saw her lip quivering. He looked and saw tears rolling down the girl's cheeks. He slowly reached out, remembering not to startle her again, and wiped away the tears. "Aw, hey, don't cry, now. You're gonna wake up my Minccino and he's gonna come clean your face!" he giggled. A warm feeling flooded his stomach as he was successful in making the small girl laugh. "And the answer to your question… A sister."

Grace turned to the boy, more confused than when he told her he'd never heard of Unova before. "What do you mean?"

The boy took a deep breath in and closed his eyes, bracing himself as if he were about to jump into a cold pool of water. His words were like taking that first, brave plunge into a ice-cold pool. "I don't usually tell people this, but… I had a brother when I was younger. Him and I would hang out all the time. He was really nice and sweet. But then when he made other friends, I got jealous."

"Really?" the girl asked.

"Oh yeah, like, when we were little, I'd always make up excuses for him not to be able to hang out with them when they came over. I guess I just wanted him to myself because I loved him so much."

"Wait…" Grace stopped him. "You said 'had'. What happened to him?"

"He, um…" Tew suddenly began to find it increasingly hard to talk. His brain tried to wire his mouth shut, but he knew after four years, it was time to face the fact. "He passed away a few years ago."

Grace covered her mouth and began to weep softly, feeling terrible that she had pryed. "Oh, Tew! I had no idea, I'm so so so sorry…"

"Nah," the boy smirked, wiping the tears away from his eyes and breathing in and out. "Don't be. It's fine. I needed to finally say it out loud anyway. But anywho," he said, quickly changing the subject. "It isn't a bad thing that you don't want your siblings to have friends. I don't really think that's the case. I think deep down, you just wanna spend more quality time with them."

Grace nodded slowly, also taking the time to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Yeah, I'd really like it if I could. They always look up to me like I'm some hero or something and it's really cool, but…"

"But what?" Tew asked.

"Even that feels like a lot, too. I don't really have anyone to go to besides my parents. My siblings are all younger than me, so it isn't like I can talk to them about stuff. I don't have many friends either... I sometimes just like to hang out with my Pokémon more than anyone else, really." Grace said with a sad sigh.

Tew's heart beated in his chest with her exact pain. "I know how you feel. I didn't really have very many friends when I was younger either. I kinda stuck to my brother a lot. And then when I was out on my own, I stuck with my Pokémon. But then I met some people and over a few years, I became a social Butterfree." he laughed. "I know people can scare your pants off, trust me. I was you when I was about fourteen. But meet enough people and it'll all go away."

Grace looked up at the boy and smiled calmly. "Thanks," she said, resting her head on his chest, much to his surprise. "You know, you're a really cool guy. Like a big brother."

"I have my moments." Tew chuckled to himself. Few and rare they were, the boy did have brief periods where what he said _actually_ made coherent sense. "Hey, Grace?" he said as the two laid back in the grass and watched the stars twinkle in the sky. "Let's be siblings."

"What?" she turned her head to look up at him, having to brush small strands of hair out of her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Let's be siblings. I'll be your big brother and you can be my little sister."

"How? Don't you need to be related to do that?"

"If there's one thing I learned…" the boy said with a small smile, drawing the faces of his guild members by connecting the stars in the sky in his head. "Its that your family doesn't always have to be related by blood. Sometimes the best family members you'll have are the ones that aren't even in your family." And boy, did he know that all too well. But the boy then sat up and took a deep breath. He asked a question that half of him didn't want the answer to, but the other half desperately needed the answer to. "I just need to know, though… you aren't scared of me, are you?"

"I was." the girl shivered slightly, thinking back to how crazy his eyes looked. "I was scared of you when we met earlier today. And I was really scared during the battle. But it's okay, because I know that you're a really cool guy. I wouldn't let you be my big brother if you weren't." she smiled.

"You really mean it? You want me to be my big brother?" Tew asked and saw Grace nodding. "But how come you were scared of me when we first met?"

The girl looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with him. She kept her mouth shut firmly about it.

"You can tell me…" he said softly. "Don't worry, I won't bite you or anything. Trust me."

"It's just…" the girl started. "You came out of nowhere and it all happened so fast. Then you challenged me to a battle and I got really nervous. Why did you get so angry? Was it something I did?" she sniffled slightly.

"No, no, no," he said repeatedly as he quickly sat up and cleared her eyes of tears. "It was just I…" the boy paused. "Do you know what Bipolar Disorder is?"

The girl shook her head, just as he expected her to.

"Well… its this thing some people like me have. Imagine yourself in a little rowboat and you're in the middle of the ocean. You've got the string of a kite you're flying in one hand and the chain of an anchor in the other one. Its really hot outside, too. So then the wind blows and it cools you down and it feels good. But then it blows so hard that you let go of the anchor and the kite starts to pull you up in the air. Then it feels even better. You're soaring up higher and higher into the air and you get to fly with all the Pidgey and Starly that are up there and you think to yourself 'Wow, I really don't want this to end. I feel incredible, like I'm invincible. Why can't life be like this all the time?'. Then you start to feel _too_ good. You reach out and you try to grab a Starly so you can fly with it instead. And you miss. Then you fall down and land right back in your boat. So you decide to put your anchor down so you don't fly away again. But the chain snags your foot as your drop it in and you're dragged really far down underwater with it. You can't breathe and you're just slowly suffocating… Someone _may _come by and pull you up, and someone may not. It all just depends on how low that anchor takes you. I guess that's sort of what it's like." He looked over and saw the little girl frozen in her seat. Not out of fear, but out of sadness. It seemed to strike her heart like a knife through the chest.

"A- are you sinking right now?" she nervously asked him.

The boy slowly nodded his head. "But hey, don't worry. I don't expect you to be the one to save me or anything. I can manage it on my own."

Grace gave him a somewhat disgruntled look. "Didn't you say that to your Chespin earlier? Look what happened there."

"I said I'm fine, alright?" Tew suddenly snapped. The girl jumped back, frightened. He quickly stood up and brushed the dirt off of his clothes. "I'm just gonna go to bed, okay?" he said with a saddened sigh. "I'll see you in the morning."

Grace sat and watched as her new friend walked to his blue tent and retreated deep into it, zipping up the door. Not a single peep was heard from him the entire night. After a while, the girl finally decided to get some sleep, curling up in her tent with Ren and Kite to keep her warm.

It took a few hours for Tew to actually fall asleep. He just sat there in the fetal position, letting himself sink further and further.

**. . .**

The trainer awoke the next morning shocked to see Grace's things gone. She was nowhere in sight, not even answering to his yells. He called out his Pokémon, thinking something might have happened to her.

The team searched high and low for any sight of the girl, but came back with nothing. Well, almost nothing. Shido had found a folded-up piece of paper and he handed it to his trainer.

Tew took the paper and opened it up in his hands. It was a note scribbled with beautiful handwriting and little drawings of Chester and Ren all around the edges.

"_Dear Tew,_

_I don't really get you. You go from being scary, to really nice, and then back to scary again. But for some reason, I think its really cool. I bet you can make yourself all scary like that so no one messes with you! Or I bet you can just make yourself happy like the kite high in the sky when you're really down. I don't really understand how the whole 'bi-poles' thingy works. But hanging out with you yesterday was really fun despite the whole scary thing that happened. I also know that as your little sister, I now have the right to call you out on everything. You have the right to call me out on everything, too, but only I'M allowed to storm off in anger, you got that?_

_I'm sorry I kinda left like I did. I've never really been good at talking to people or saying bye. So I do it through little notes. But I'm not saying bye to you. Because I know I'm gonna see you again one day. Maybe in the finals, or maybe on the road again- doesn't matter. I'll see you. And when we battle again, I'm gonna learn to be stronger. And I want you to be as scary as you can possibly be! Because I'm gonna be even scarier!_

_Oh hey, and one more thing… Turn the note over. I drew you something!_

_-Your little sister, Grace Elliot"_

On the back of the little note was a picture of a Chespin and a Quilava laying under what looked like a night sky. The Quilava had its head on the Chespin's chest. Both of them were smiling happily with the Chespin pointing up at the sky.

It took the boy a few minutes to process, but it hit him. He finally realized what the picture _really_ was. The Chespin represented himself and the Quilava represented Grace. Finally arriving at the conclusion, he walked back into his tent, curled up, and just let it all out.


	19. Chapter 19

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 19

"This is getting old." the female trainer said with a fold of her arms as she returned her fainted Croagunk to its Poké Ball.

"What do you mean?" Tew said as he awaited her next choice. "Are you upset because you're losing or something?" he said with a genuine curiosity. In mid-battle, the boy's curiosity was usually always mistaken for taunts.

Just as well, the girl took it as him simply toying with her, which she thought he was quite good at. He even had the furrow of the eyebrow and those big, Lillipup-eyes.

Reina Oyakami, a trainer he had recently met and challenged to a battle, rubbed the bridge of her nose and groaned slightly in slight annoyance. "You and your tactics, that's what I mean."

Tew literally had no clue what she was talking about, nor did his brain possess the power to process it. He assessed the situation the best his limited intelligence allowed him to.

Currently, the situation was that he was winning against the copper-brown haired girl. The deal was a four on four battle, which he led with a strong three points while she had none. His only conclusion was that she was upset with losing. "Are you capsized with the outcome of the battle? Also, I don't see how I'm being old, here. I'm, like, eighteen." he said. His brain was suddenly authentically surprised at the boy's first sentence. He'd never even _heard_ the word capsized before. This was either a sign that he was becoming smarter, or he had just watched too much Netflix on his Pokétch again.

"No, not literally." Reina sighed. "It's the fact that you've swept me with just your Oshawott is what I'm referring to."

"So you _ARE_ upset about losing then…" the boy looked at her skeptically. "Are you trying to psyche me out or something?"

The rust-eyed girl smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "I'm surprised you're able to battle like you have been."

Tew, with a tilt of his head, showed off his curiosity again. "Like I have been? I don't see anything wrong with me. I mean, I had sriracha beans last night, but the poo explosion didn't do much damage or anything. By the way, you may not want want to walk down the path behind me and breathe at the same time."

It was then that Reina figured out no type of sophisticated, or even regular talk would help the boy figure out what she's saying. So she decided the fail-safe way to get through to any idiot. Be blunt. "You're hiding behind the Pokémon you entered the competition with and relying on its strength to win the battle for you."

This only made the boy more confused, much to the girl's dismay.

"But I didn't enter the competition with my Oshawott. I caught him around a week ago." he informed her. In his head, he just thought he was being informative.

But in her head… these were psychological tactics of a battling mastermind. The playful stupidity, the lying, the sriracha- _it was all a carefully planned lie. _

"Haha, nice try. I'm not going to fall for your tricks, though." Reina took a Poké Ball from her pocket and tossed it, calling out a Persian to the field. "I'll just have to beat you with the Pokémon _I_ entered in with, then. Use Iron Tail!"

Tew and his Pokémon both watched as the cat lunged through the air at the little otter with a tail harder than steel. He allowed the opponent to draw himself in before ordering an attack. "Detect! Then follow up with Razor Shell!"

Shido deftly moved to the side at the last second to avoid danger and unsheathed his scalchop, slashing it into the cat's stomach. Persian flew high in the air, but landed back on his feet in front of his trainer, just as all cats did.

It took Tew a while to fully get the hang of his new Pokémon's battle style. While he usually would prefer the first attack, Shido came from a clan of Pokémon that had very strict techniques to battling opposite to what he was accustomed to.

They never moved, even when provoked. Keeping a calm mind and a watchful eye on the battle was always number one, as Tew had to figure out through training with him. When an opening presented itself, strike fast and then distance yourself from the opponent as much as possible to avoid a counter measure. Everything Shido did and taught his trainer had a very particular science about it.

He was starting to understand where his Pokémon had came from, which was something he never strived to do until now. That isn't to say he never got to know his Pokémon, but before the challenge, it was never incorporated into his battling style. It usually always his way. Now he sees that there are more ways to battle than just his favorite Stone Edge armor strategy.

"Persian, use Dig!" Reina called out.

The foe quickly began burrowing his way underground.

As Tew was getting ready to call out a move, he saw his Pokémon concentrating on the world around him. It made him rethink his strategy to have Shido run around so his opponent wouldn't be able to find him. That would have been a call, but as he learned, it wasn't the way Shido wanted to do things.

Persian shot out of the ground in front of him and that's when Reina knew exactly how to deal with her opponent.

"Power Gem!"

Tew was ready with his Pokémon to call out a Razor Shell, but they were taken completely off-guard by the combination. Shido was blasted away by a powerful beam shot at him in point-blank range. It was enough to defeat the honorable little otter.

Tew returned his Pokémon and held the ball close to his mouth before putting it back in his pocket. "You did amazing today, Shido. I got to learn more about you. Take a rest now. We'll win this for you." he quickly dug around in his pocket and called out his second choice, a Pokémon he knew would be able to deal with a Normal-type in no time flat. A Pokémon that he had become extremely close to over the weeks in the challenge, the little, blue warrior, Ria, the Riolu.

"Go, Ria!"

Ria exploded from her ball and appeared on the scene. She began hopping in place and throwing punches and kicks in the air, getting her blood flowing and psyching herself up. This was something that she always did before each battle. Tew never understood it until he made the mistake of telling her to stop one day before a battle with another trainer. Because she couldn't get her energy going, the two lost miserably. Now, he sits back and allows her to get her blood flowing before the battle begins. If the opportunity presents itself, however. When there wasn't a chance to do that, another way the two figured out was for her to dodge as many incoming attacks as she could, that was it would warm her up.

"Brick Break!" Tew commanded.

The blue warrior dashed down the field with incredible speed, delivering a swift chop downward on the big cat's head. He was pushed into the ground and roared in pain of his opponent's power behind the new move. They recently learned Brick Break in place of her usual Force Palm yesterday during training. At first, Tew was afraid that they would miss the secondary effect of the paralysis, but soon saw that it was an equal trade-off. The chance of paralyzing the opponent was gone, but the increased power from the new move made it all worthwhile.

Reina developed a bold sneer as she saw her opponent was still noticeably close to her Persian. "Quick, while they're in front of you, use Flash!"

Persian's eyes shot open and his cry of agony ceased. Of course the cat was in pain, but the over-the-top flourish of the roar was a tactic him and Reina used to fool opponents into thinking they did more damage than they thought.

A blinding light shined from the gem on his forehead. Ria shielded her eyes, but the brightness was too much. Her vision became blotchy and blocked until she saw nothing but pure white. She flailed around hopelessly, trying to rub the sight back into her eyes with her paws. It was only a matter of time before Reina took advantage of the Pokémon's lack of eyesight. She quickly fell to the multiple Iron Tails that the cat mercilessly unleashed on her.

"Ria, return." Tew said as he retrieved his fallen friend back to her capsule for recovery. "You did great, thank you." He always made an effort to thank his Pokémon for battling for him, especially after he learned how hard they worked through training with him. He dug into his pocket and called out his next choice, the Immovable Juggernaut legend himself, Kakuna.

The cocooned warrior appeared on the field and did his best to give his opponent an intimidating leer, but this was usually much more effective when you weren't in your cocoon stage of evolution.

After his surprising evolution, Tew quickly figured out that Kakuna liked to remain immobile during this stage. This was because while they were motionless on the outside, they were very busy on the inside preparing for their next metamorphosis. In dire situations, the boy _did_ see that Kakuna was capable of hopping around, albeit very poorly. But after reading more about him in the Pokédex entry, he saw that the more they moved around in this stage, the longer it would take for them to evolve, no matter how much training they received. So he decided to only use Kakuna when he had to. And when he did use him, he would limit the hopping to as little as he possibly could.

The Cocoon Pokémon was definitely discouraged by this, but this was something he had to accept. Besides, after the gym match back in Chip Town, he was confident that he would receive a lot more training after becoming a Beedrill.

"String Shot with Iron Defense!" Tew ordered. This was their best and really only way of a head-on attack.

Kakuna shot a long thread that stuck to Persian's chest and reeled himself in like a slingshot with his body hardening to iron.

Reina, once again, got that confident sneer on her face. "Power Gem!"

Tew's eyes widened and he called for the cocooned warrior to cut the thread the second the trainer finished her order. But it was far too late. Even if Kakuna had succeeded in cutting the line, he would still be helplessly flying straight into the powerful blast that defeated him. Which is _exactly_ what happened. The only thing the String Shot did was ensure the attack would hit by giving it a line to travel down.

Te returned his downed companion, thanking him for his service, despite it being very little. With a toss, his next choice was called out. It was none other than the somewhat OCD cleanly warrior, Chilla the Pristine Minccino.

The chinchilla appeared on the field, dusting himself off habitually with his tail before beginning. It didn't make much sense because he was more than likely going to get even dirtier in battle than he did staying in his Poké Ball. And he didn't even get dirty in his Poké Ball. But according to Minccino, he was downright filthy. He's more than once bugged his trainer for a Luxury Ball because they had a reputation for being one of the cleanest capsules, next to a Master Ball.

This time, the boy waited for Reina to make her move. She called for a Dig, just as he hoped she would, and knew the perfect plan to combat it. "Chilla, use Shock Wave on the field!"

Chilla fired bolts of electricity that rained down on the field wildly. Tiny shocks began to scatter all over, ensuring a strike upon rising. The plan worked as Persian emerged from the ground to attack and was immediately shocked by powerful electricity.

"Use Power Gem!" Reina commanded.

Tew almost began to think Power Gem was their most powerful _and_ their signature move. However, he did eventually take into account that so far they had only displayed three moves- Dig, Flash, and that Power Gem. Which means they were hiding something…

As the beam of energy charged down the field, the boy called for a Double Team and it cleaved right through a double of Chilla. A Shock Wave ordered by Tew resulted in the copies of his Minccino all shocking the large cat at once with powerful electricity, thanks to his ability, Technician.

But then Persian revealed both his fourth move and ability simultaneously. Once the electricity ceased, Reina commanded for the cat to use Payback. Persian quickly used his incredible eyesight to detect the real Chilla and dispatched a hard jab to the poor chinchilla's stomach with his paw, possessing such power behind the attack that he was knocked out in one hit. The power that Persian had just displayed was thanks to an ability that Tew had _just_ recently used to his advantage- Technician, and it was twice as strong as it originally was, thanks to the Double Team-Shock Wave combo.

With that, the battle for our young hero was officially lost. He was, of course, saddened by the outcome. Having already been in the process of emotionally and mentally sinking down deeper into the sea of depression, the boy took it a little harder than he usually would have. Especially considering how close he was.

It was after thanking Reina for the battle and having a quick snack with her, that he saw she wasn't just the confident and perceptive persona she displayed in battle. She loved her Pokémon as much as she possibly could. The girl even admitted to skipping meals in order to make sure that they would have a healthy and balanced diet. Fearing for her safety, he gave her a few boxes of his favorite cheddar cheese-flavored crackers to take with her. He tried to make her promise that she would eat more often, but she never gave the boy a straight answer.

As their Pokémon ate while the two conversed, a Scraggy under the ownership of Reina stole a piece of food from Chester's plate upon realizing his was all gone. The hedgehog was angered by this, and had the two teenagers not butted in, a fight would have broken out. One thing was for sure, however. It was that a rivalry born over the dispute of lost food, and it was _deep_.

Tew parted ways with the girl later that afternoon and learned a very powerful lesson that he would carry with him for the rest of the tournament and hopefully the rest of his life. The tide of battle can turn very quickly, most notably when you least expect it to. Today, he gained not just a friend, but another rival.

The next day, a new, fiery determination burned inside of him as he trained with his Pokémon. When Tew saw Reina Oyakami again, _he was going to win._

Also that very next sunrise, our young hero noticed something in the sky that even _he_ knew was horribly out of place. A single, gigantic crack traveled down the sky and out of sight. It was as if the sky were now a delicate, blue window and a baseball had just collided with it.

Upon his arrival to Ore City days later, a large town famous for the beautiful stones and minerals found deep within its mines, he asked around. But no one had any more answers than he did. Not even the world's brightest scientists could figure out why it was there. It prompted many investigations by experts, but on the other hand, as it didn't seem to pose a threat, many just got used to it and paid it no attention. Eventually, even the experts gave up.

There was just now a huge crack in the sky that everyone ultimately accepted. Life went on, and so did our young hero's quest to become a Pokémon Master.

His next objective, you ask? The Ore City Gym, naturally.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Credit to RansomeNote for their OC, Reina Oyakami!<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 20

We rejoin our hero in the beginning of his second gym battle during his fateful climb of Trial Mountain.

Both challenger, Tew Hyland, and Gym Leader, Demetria, a very large and heavy-set woman with an even bigger voice to boot, stood on opposing sides of the large, sandy field. They stared each other down like dogs from rivaling packs fighting over a piece of meat. One side wanted the meat, and the other side wanted to keep it all for herself.

"Let the battle begin!"

A two-on-two battle. The fight was on.

Both sides called out their Pokémon. From the Gym Leader's side, a green, beautiful dragon who with each graceful flap of its wings, kicked up small streams of sand. It was a wyvern heard in legends as the Siren of the Desert, Flygon. The challenger called forth a Pokémon that had held honor as a very high standard from the day they met. He was known among his group as the Silent Samurai, possessing talent to skillfully dual-wield his swords that were scalchops. Each attack the Silent Samurai pulled off was carefully calculated and elegant nonetheless. This warrior's name was Shido, the newly-evolved Dewott.

Through strict training last night with his scalchop, Shido was able to reach a new plateau and evolve himself. Now possessing two weapons, he was faster and stronger. His discipline among the team was unmatched, surpassing even Tew's constant training sessions.

The pair of Pokémon and trainer alike stood, staring each other down as a tumbleweed blew across the empty, sandy ocean. Each understood their Pokémon's battling style and played a game of psychological warfare.

The Siren's tail rose slightly and her trainer quickly ordered for it to take off into the sky and use Sandstorm. Flygon's wings began flapping vigorously, kicking up a storm of sand that covered the entire field. It seemed as if there was no escape. Shido was constantly battered by the power of the cyclone of sand. To worsen things, as Flygon disappeared deep into the winds of the storm, she revealed what the challenger only assumed to be a Sandy Rock hanging on a thread around her neck like a necklace.

Tew knew that now taking down that Flygon was a top priority. "Focus and use Razor Shell!"

The Silent Samurai closed his eyes and honed in on the surroundings. There was nothing but sands whipping him at every second they could. But then he heard a disturbance in the wind. An inconsistency that could have only been the flapping of wings. It sounded almost like a faint humming. This was the song of the Siren of the Desert.

He quickly unsheathed his weapons and dashed into the air, dispatching multiple hard blows of the attack into the belly of the beast, not being swoon by her beautiful melody. Years of hardening his psyche made him immune to such foolish tactics.

The wyvern repelled him with a strong Gust attack, sending him back to his trainer's feet. However, such a weak attack barely fazed the otter as he quickly got up and began focusing again on his surroundings, searching for that humming sound

"Turn up the heat, Flygon! Use Heat Wave and Gust!" Demetria ordered.

Flygon exhaled a scorching wave of heat from her mouth that bonded with the Sandstorm attack, only to be made much more intense by the following Gust. The challenger could only watch as the storm was now a blazing hurricane of blistering hot embers and sand. There was too much going on for him to focus on the melody of the Siren and Tew took notice of it.

"Dig!" he called out.

Shido easily managed to escape the hot storm before it came around to him and was now burrowing under the soft sand. But Tew soon realized that was all he could do. If he indeed called for his Pokémon to come back up, the new intensity of the storm would surely cause massive damage, despite being a Water-type.

However, there was a defensive Pokémon he had up his sleeve. Although it was weak to Fire-type attacks, Ground-type attacks had little effect on it. This meant that it would only have to worry about damage from the Heat Wave, which it has more than once proven to be able to deal with fire.

Knowing that this was the only way, the challenger returned his current Pokémon and substituted for a courageous, determined little hedgehog, Chester, the Chespin.

As the Eviolite hung from his neck, it glistened brightly, granting him the defensive boost he was used to. He bravely endured the power of the Heat Wave-Sandstorm. It was just what Tew needed.

"Shoot Stone Edge and Energy Balls into the storm!"

It was a double-edged sword tactic. The challenger's Pokémon wildly released attacks into the storm that bonded with it just as Heat Wave did. As the terrible weather carried on, Flygon was repeatedly slammed with sharp stones and balls imbued with the power of nature. By that logic, Chester also endured some of his own attacks. He sustained more damage than the trainer originally thought he would, which posed a serious problem.

But it worked. Flygon had fallen to the barrage of attacks that hit her. As her body fell to the ground, the Sandstorm ceased to exist, tapering out and fading away quickly into nothing. Not only had they successfully defeated the Siren, but they had also waited out the storm.

The score was one to zero. Tew only needed one more point to win, but as he learned two days ago, the tide of battle could change quickly. He began to grow fearful of what the next mountain to climb would be, but his Pokémon looked back with a confident grin, which reassured the trainer that he had nothing to worry about.

That badge was going to be his.

The Gym Leader gripped a Poké Ball tight in her hands and congratulated the challenger on his battling feats so far. "Well, you and your Pokémon sure have got a spark in ya. I've never seen a Pokémon Trainer risk their own Pokémon to defeat one of my own."

"It wasn't something I wanted to do." Tew said as he took a look out at his exhausted Pokémon. "But it was the only way I could have used your storm to my advantage and taken down Flygon. The fact that it ran out was coincidence."

Demetria chuckled and tossed her final choice out onto the field. "Then let's see what you'll come up with when battling this one!"

A large mouse, complete with beady eyes and sharp claws appeared on the field. It quickly tore the little hedgehog apart with devastating slashes that were faster than the challenger could order his Pokémon to dodge. Normally, he would have been able to survive with just a tiny sliver of health left, but it was already dangerously low, thanks to the plan from earlier. Having finished the job, the Pokémon returned to his Gym Leader's feet, anxiously awaiting his next prey.

Tew had just experienced the might of the Sand Mouse, Sandslash. He returned his fallen partner, but wasn't too upset. In fact, the boy was noticeably happy and confident. Inside his pocket was the perfect Pokémon to combat such a quick dispatcher of attacks as Sandslash. Despite his emotional crashing, blood charging through his veins began to boil with excitement as he recalled the Silent Samurai to the field.

It was another game of psychological tactics, but this time was different. The tension in the air was so thick that it was hard for Tew to breathe. And he loved every second of it. Adversely, there was a large amount of respect beaming from both of the Pokémon. Each one noticed the other's skill and respected it, vowing to have an honorable battle.

But they knew there would only be one winner today.

Sandslash charged down the field and stopped to spin in the middle, whipping up a small tornado of sand that began traveling toward Shido. The Silent Samurai combated it with a breath of frozen wind that halted the Sand Tomb in its tracks, creating a large, frozen structure in the middle of the gym.

"Razor Shell!"

"Poison Jab!"

Both sides cleaved through the icy architecture and met one another with a jab square to the face. As both Pokémon flew back, landing on their feet, they were wracked with the secondary effects of their moves. The mouse suffered a reduction in his Defense while the otter was tormented by poison that seeped through his body.

The Pokémon went back for more, crashing a Razor Shell and Crush Claw together in the middle of the field. Neither warrior let up and kept applying pressure to their attacks. Sandslash and Shido looked into each other's determined eyes and saw their power was equal and jumped back from one another. They recognized that the struggle would have gotten them nowhere and it would have wasted unnecessary energy.

The Silent Samurai unexpectedly fell to his knee, sustaining damage from the Poison condition. He looked up to see Sandslash towering in front of him, holding a single claw up with Poison Jab, ready to finish the job. The warrior closed his eyes, awaiting his honorable end.

"Sh- Shido!" the challenger yelled as he watched the Sand Mouse crash his claw down onto his Pokémon. "Don't give up!"

Suddenly, a biting chill flooded the Samurai's head like a cold fever. Power built up within his stomach and he released it through his hands like a ki attack. A shock wave of powerful ice blew the Sand Mouse clear across the field.

Shido valiantly stood back up with a mighty roar, ready to face his opponent once again. Through sheer will and the motivation of his trainer, at a time the Pokémon would have normally conceded defeat, he unlocked a power deep within him and learned Ice Beam.

But there was also something else that occurred as well. A thick, blue aura bled from his body as his eyes turned to a shade of an even darker blue. It was as if a tsunami of power flooded his muscles and all of his senses were heightened. This was unlike anything Tew had ever seen before. He knew it was Torrent, but never imagined there was one as powerful as this. Not even Chester's Overgrow, a Pokémon that the trainer had for _years_ was able to match the power that Dewott was putting out.

Sandslash charged down the field and spun, whipping up yet another tornado of sand. Shido cupped his hands together and released an Ice Beam attack that obliterated the Sand Tomb and struck the Sand Mouse vigorously.

Their health was now down to dangerous levels. Both trainers recognized it as the time to end things.

"Razor Shell!"

"Crush Claw!"

In the blink of an eye, the Pokémon drew their weapons and met mid-air in the middle of the field, slicing through one another with powerful attacks. They both landed on opposing sides of the field. With both of their health depleted and their energy spent, it was now nothing but a test of sheer will to see who would fall first.

Poison attacked the Samurai's body, causing him to flinch mildly in pain. But upon sheathing his scalchops to his side, it was the courageous Sand Mouse that fell to the ground, defeated.

"Sandslash is unable to battle!" the referee said upon inspection. "The challenger Tew is the winner!"

Tew rushed out onto the field and picked up his collapsed partner. "Shido, that was great!" he congratulated him. "You even learned Ice Beam!"

The Gym Leader, after returning her Pokémon, helped the boy and his Pokémon up to their feet. "You two really are something." she chortled. "You've earned this- the Sand Badge."

The challenger graciously accepted the small gym badge shaped like a large, crystallized, grain of sand. He looked over to see his Dewott bowing respectfully and he quickly followed in suit, learning that it was a sign of respect among his tribe.

Sandslash broke free from his Poké Ball and began an intense staring match with Shido that ended in the two bumping claws as a sign of friendship.

Upon departing the gym, Demetria let him know that he was free to come back with a battle against Sandslash any time he wished. But for now, it was time for our hero to go elsewhere, deeper into his journey and possibly uncover the mysterious crack in the sky.

That is, if he can make it back to the Pokémon Center before collapsing of hunger. It had been a whole forty-two minutes since his last meal and he was starving.


	21. Chapter 21

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 21

Fliers posted all around the city and constant commercials of the town's monthly Skiddo Race attracted many trainers that were passing through, including our young hero. Stationed right on the outskirts of town with a two mile-long race track, participants signed up at the big house and were allowed time to bond with their given Skiddo before the race began.

"There you go," Tew said as he sat a bowl of milk down in front of Skiddo. The little goat happily drank to his thirst's content. "You were thirsty, weren't you?" he playfully said, petting the goat on his head.

A boy who noticed him from afar felt the need to speak up, so he approached him. "Hey, don't you know it isn't good to feed your Skiddo right before a race?"

Tew looked up to see a large, bulky trainer standing over him with a concerned look. He had the boy's look, a gray t-shirt with black pants, but the two differed in accessories. A pendant in the shape of a Mew dangled from his neck. His appearance was almost intimidating, as he had a large scar from what looked to be a burn on the right side of his tanned face. "W- Why's that?" the young trainer said with a slight stammer, due mostly to the boy's threatening appearance.

"Well, Skiddo don't run too well on a full stomach."

The boy looked over at the Skiddo he received who was contentedly drinking from the bowl. "But this Skiddo hadn't eaten all day. I figured he needed _something_ before he started running."

"Pfft." the bulky trainer folded his arms and began to walk away. "Its your race to lose."

"Excuse me?" Tew said, immediately taking offense. "We don't intend to lose."

"Hey, kid," the trainer said as he stopped and turned his head around. "I'm just trying to help. You don't need to get all worked up."

Tew valiantly approached the large trainer and looked up at him with a disgruntled face. "First of all, I'm not a kid. B, I'm not worked up. And tres, you're trying to say that my Skiddo should run on an empty stomach. How does that help me?"

"Think what you will, bu-"

An attendant far off in the distance called out for the bulky trainer. "Siphon, I have your Skiddo over here!"

"We'll see how you do on the track." Siphon casually said as he turned his back once again on the boy, walking away.

Tew returned to his Skiddo and placed his hand on the goat's horns. He immediately felt his rider's emotions and got just about as pumped as he was. "Yeah, you feel it, don't you? We're gonna win."

**. . .**

Each contestant had mounted their Skiddo and stood behind a gate as the announcer took his seat in the press box. "Racers, on your marks… Get set… Go!"

A Chatot imitated the sound of a gunshot and the racers broke out of their gates, dashing down the track at an incredible speed.

Among them, Tew found himself in the middle, but could see Siphon taking a very early lead. "Like Giratina I'm gonna let him win…" He angrily gripped his Skiddo's horns.

The Mount Pokémon could feel his rider's rage. His body began to overflow with energy as he was propelled forward by his legs, breaking free from the group and coming up, tailgating the first place racer.

Siphon looked back to see the boy he met earlier rearing up behind him. While he was somewhat surprised, he remained calm and allowed the boy to close the gap and inch closer to him.

The two trainers were now neck and neck as they quickly cleared the first mile of the race.

"Hey!" the boy yelled over at Siphon. "My name's Tew Hyland!"

"That's cool," Siphon said. "But why are you telling me this now? I didn't exactly need to know that."

"So you know the name of the _teenager_ that beat you in the Skiddo Race!" Tew's anger began to push his Skiddo further and further until he was officially in the lead.

But as Tew's words began to fester, Siphon also grew enraged and worked it to his advantage. The man's Skiddo quickly dashed forward with a sudden leap, taking back the lead.

"Dammit, come on!" the boy swore, gripping his Skiddo's horns tighter. But the little goat was already giving it his all and anger could only propel them so far. Without realizing it, Tew was setting himself up to fail.

The major difference between the boy and his opponent were the emotions that they allowed their Skiddo to share with them. Both were angry, albeit, but only one was also determined and motivated, and it wasn't our hero.

The finish line was in their sights.

Tew swore under his breath more and more as he tried to valiantly push his Skiddo ahead through anger, but he only succeeded in gripping the horns so hard that he was thrown off with a buck. The boy crashed into the ground, eating dirt.

He came in an embarrassing last place.

And now he had emotionally lost it. Tears from his eyes and blood from banging his nose on the ground filled the dirt he laid face down in. Some patrons tried to assist him, but he swatted them all away as he became lost in his own anger and sadness.

Tew tore through the winner's circle with a blood trickling down his face and confronted Siphon. "You. Battle me!" he angrily challenged the man.

Siphon, however, paid the boy no mind and went back to chatting it up with the other racers. But then Tew made the horrible mistake of calling out one of his Pokémon, Ria, and antagonizing him.

Were it not for Siphon accepting the angered boy's challenge of a three-on-three battle, security would have certainly claimed him. He took careful notice of the rage within the dirty boy and called out his first choice, a Heracross.

Both trainers took their places on the battlefield with an interested crowd gathered around them as the battle began.

"Mud-Slap!" Tew quickly ordered through his red anger.

Siphon quickly saw through the boy's plan of lowering their accuracy and countered right away. "Rock Slide."

Ria fired a blast of mud from her paw, but it was quickly stopped by a large boulder that fell from the sky.

Predicting that the boy would go in for a physical attack, Siphon quickly gave his Pokémon his next orders. "Brick Break."

With no time to even give his Riolu a command, the powerful beetle rushed her and delivered an impressive chop right to her neck, knocking the little warrior out cold.

The score was now zero to one as both trainers returned their Pokémon and called out their next choice. From Tew's side, it was his faithful companion, Chester.

On Siphon's side, a large, green insect with terribly sharp scythes known as Scyther appeared on the field, ready to rip his opponent to shreds. He managed to correctly guess his opponent's tactic to want to stay out of Scyther's range and quickly gave his orders. "Double Team and Cut."

The Prey Mantis Pokémon created copies of himself, each one surrounding the poor hedgehog and slashing at him with their scythes until he fell to their might.

Both trainers once again returned their Pokémon with a score of zero to two, which meant that Siphon was declared the winner. But Tew was so far gone that he called out a third Pokémon, his Dewott.

The trainer refused to continue any further, having embarrassed the little hero enough for one day. However, a Pokémon broke free of his Poké Ball out of her own free will. Siphon's Lucario, which he named Sheik, stood before the boy's Dewott. The two growled at each other with the intent to battle. But the boy returned Lucario to her ball and bid him a farewell, putting an end to the snarling.

Tew was left to his emotions as people that gathered to watch the battle now gave him ominous looks, chatting about how "weird" and "crazy" he was. He was stuck at the bottom of the ocean. And he was drowning.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Credit to Siphon 117 for their OC, Siphon Rayzar!<strong>

**Also, I have a few questions for you guys.**

** Do you all prefer short chapters like this one, or longer ones like the two previous chapters?**

**How are you all enjoying the story so far now that we've started to get more into the challenge?**

**Would you prefer if I gave chapters names, or if they stayed nameless as they are right now?**


	22. Chapter 22

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 22

"Oh geez, he's really done it this time…" Chester said as he dragged his trainer into a small crevice deep inside the Ore Cave. The hedgehog rested his trainer on his back against the cold, cave floor. He looked back to see that he led a pretty large trail of blood behind them that blocked the odor of anything else. The smell of copper overpowered all of his senses and nearly made him retch. Knowing he couldn't handle this one by himself, he called out the rest of the team from their capsules.

All of the Pokémon appeared only to be horrified at the awful sight of their trainer. He was unconscious in a pool of blood with twin cuts leading all the way up his arm in a horizontal line. The red liquid poured from the wounds like water bursting free of a dam that held it back.

"What has happened to our trainer?" Shido asked as he inspected the large gashes.

Ria balled her fists up in anger. "Who did this to him?!"

Chester failed to make eye contact with his teammates, holding back the truth for fear of what they would think, and for embarrassment that he failed to stop him.

Chilla had already been with the boy long enough to gather what happened. He approached the hedgehog and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Chester."

"He did it to himself." Chester stated.

Ria and Shido looked at him with apprehension in their eyes.

"Listen, we don't have a lot of time. We need to go find help right now. Ore City is too far back to go all the way there and have someone make it back here in time. Our best bet is to go through the cave." The hedgehog grabbed his trainer's Pokétch off his bloody wrist and opened up the Map app. "Regimen Village is just at the end of this cave. So that's our best bet."

"But how do we get there? If we drag Tew along with us the entire way, we'll be too slow and won't make it." Chilla pointed out.

"Plus, there's no telling what kind of wild Pokémon inhabit this cave." Kakuna pointed out.

Chester sat back for a moment in deep thought before coming up with a strategy. "I've got an idea. A small group of us could move through the cave as fast as possible."

"But who?" Chilla asked. "Kakuna is mostly immobile."

"Gee, thanks for pointing that out." Kakuna rolled his eyes.

"I'm thinking you, Ria, and Shido should be the ones to go for help." Chester stated. "You three are the fastest Pokémon out of us. Besides, I need to stay here with him and make sure nothing happens."

"In that case, I'm staying here as well." Chilla said as he folded his arms. "I need to clean that wound so it doesn't get infected. And no one here cleans like me."

Chester nodded in agreement. "Fair point." He turned to the remaining two Pokémon. "That means you two need to get through this cave as fast and quietly as you possibly can. Wild Pokémon would only slow you down. Got it?"

Both Ria and Shido gestured with their heads that they understood. Together, the Silent Samurai and the Blue Warrior disappeared deep into the cave, leaving the tarrying Pokémon to tend to their trainer.

Chilla dusted the dirt and dried blood from Tew's wound with his tail, trying not to gag while doing so. "Do you think Shido and Ria will make it in time?" he asked, looking up at Chester.

Chester signaled for Kakuna to spin a thread tightly around their trainer's arm and he did so. "I sure hope so." He began to apply pressure to the thread bandages to stop the bleeding. The trainer's face cringed slightly in pain as he and Chilla kept pushing. "This time is pretty serious."

Kakuna hobbled over to his two teammates and pulled on the thread to make it tighter. "What did he do to himself?"

Chilla pointed at the wound. "Its a little obvious _what_ he did. I think a better question is _why_ did he do it."

The hedgehog picked up Kakuna and laid his head down over the boy's arm. "Use Iron Defense for me, yeah?"

Kakuna did as instructed and hardened his body and rested above the cut.

"Chester…" Chilla folded his arms and gave the hedgehog a skeptical look.

Chester turned around and sighed. "Well, you weren't there, thank Arceus. He had a battle with this other guy, really big and muscular. Me and Ria couldn't even land a single hit on his Pokémon. It was like he could see every move we made before we made it."

"And that threw him over the edge?"

The hedgehog shook his head. "He was coming down from a manic episode. Whenever he comes down, its like watching a car crash in slow motion. I think it was losing to that big guy in the Skiddo Race that threw him over the edge."

"Wait, there was a Skiddo Race? When?"

"Yesterday." Chester sighed. "I've learned how to hear things through my Poké Ball. Don't worry, I'll teach you all sometime. For now, we have to worry about saving him. I just wonder how Shido and Ria are doing…"

"I'm sure they're fine." Chilla reassured his leader. "So how long have you been traveling with Tew?"

Chester took a moment to quickly count up all of the months he'd been with him. "I guess its been about four years. Four crazy years."

The chinchilla folded his arms once again. "When did you notice that he was a little 'off' from everyone else?"

"Tew isn't off." Chester quickly snapped. "He's just… he feels things more than most humans do, that's all. He's been like this ever since we met."

"Does it get tiring?"

He skeptically looked at his friend. "What are you getting at?"

Chilla let out a sigh as he knew it was time to come out with it. "Do you ever get tired of how he acts?"

"How he acts has saved the world two time over- no, I don't get tired of that."

Sensing the rising anger in the hedgehog's voice, Chilla backed off. "Whoa, hey, it's alright. I was just curious." However, the chinchilla's curiosity wasn't satisfied. At the risk of angering his friend, he went back in for more. "How many times has he done this?"

Chester was thrown off guard. His heart began to beat rapidly as sweat rolled down his wooden hood. "What?"

"You hear me." Minccino stated. "You heard exactly what I asked, so just answer it, _yeah_?"

"I don't have to answer to you." Chester growled.

Chilla raised his eyebrow in concern. "You sure do shut down quick when it comes to talking about our trainer."

Chespin scoffed and let out a slight chuckle. "'Our' trainer?' Its barely been a month since he caught you and already you think he's gonna keep you?"

"I don't see any reason to suspect otherwise." he said with a shrug. "What's up with you? Why are you throwing up walls?"

Chester raised his arm to his teammate and snarled at him. "The only wall I'll be raising is a Dual Chop if you don't mind your place."

"My place?" Chilla laughed heartily. "My place is on this team, you idiot. Why don't you just calm down and start thinking rationally about things?"

"Four times."

Chilla's ears perked up. "What?"

"He's tried this four times. This being the fifth." Chester sighed.

Tew's body twitched once, but violently. His mouth began moving as he whispered faintly in a weak voice. "The boy who lies, will be the boy who dies."

Chilla looked over at the boy who had suddenly fell silent again. "Wh- what was that?" he asked, somewhat astonished.

Chester's body was frozen. His quills fell limp and his eyes fell dim like a dull streetlight.

"Ch- Chester?" Kakuna whimpered, seeing all of the life of the hedgehog seem to drain out of him in an instant.

Chilla approached Chester and was within breathing distance of him. "Chester, what was that?"

"The boy who lies, will be the boy who dies. All will come to an end at the Shi Bend. And the boy who shrouded himself in darkness, will find the sky starless. Hell will ascend at the Shi Bend when a question asked…"

**. . .**

As the two wandered deeper into the cave, things appeared to be going well as they hadn't encountered any wild Pokémon. However, the wild Pokémon wasn't apparently what they had to worry about...

"Hold, friend, for I shall take the lead." Shido calmly said with a stretch of his arm to block Ria from continuing.

Ria smacked the otter's arm away and growled at him. "No, _I'm_ leading. I know the way out of here."

Shido gave the Blue Warrior a skeptical look. "When our companion showed us the map, there was not time for anyone to look for the correct path, as we were in a dire situation."

"Yeah?" she snarked, turning back to him. "Well I got a good look. I know the way out."

Shido folded his arms and grumbled lowly. "I highly recommend that I be the one to lead, as my senses are stronger and can detect the slightest changes in the temperament around us."

"That's mighty big talk coming from a Pokémon whose ears are smaller than mine."

The Silent Samurai unsheathed a scalchop and held it to his face. His reflection casted back at him as he closed his eyes, beginning to focus. "Ears are but only one part of a body full of sensory tools, my blue friend."

Fed up with the otter, Ria quickly attempted to kick the scalchop from his hand. But the samurai stepped to the side, allowing her to crash into a wall.

Right as she stood up for a punch, the two stopped for a moment. They noticed a large, Rock Snake Pokémon looking at them ominously. Their squabbling had made them oblivious to the enemy that now presented itself in front of them.

Shido sheathed his scalchop and bowed to the Onix. "Excuse me, kind Pokémon, but we are looking for a way ou-"

The wild Onix raised his tail and smacked the samurai into the cave wall.

"Better senses than me… right." Ria mocked as she watched the otter fly through the air. She took the chance to jump up and deliver a swift chop to the middle of the snake's body.

Onix roared in pain and quickly slivered away in fear of the blue warrior's might.

Shido managed to bring himself to his feet, with no help from Ria of course. In fact, the Blue Warrior stood only and watched him, folding her arms and tapping her foot all the while. "You rush me after taking the full force of an adult Onix's Slam attack?"

"I've seen Tew hit harder." Ria groaned. "Now come on, I'm leading."

"I do suggest that you do not take an-"

Ria held her paw up and shook her head. "Ahp. You can't speak after your senses failed to detect that Onix."

"But I must say, you really shoul-"

"Don't make me Mud-Slap you." Ria threatened. She then felt a warm gust of breath blow down her back. As the warrior slowly turned around, she met eye to eye with an enormous Steelix, presumably parent to the Onix she quickly dispatched earlier. "This definitely isn't good…"

Shido quickly stepped in front of the frightened warrior and unsheathed his scalchops, preparing a dual Razor Blade. "No, it is not, comrade."

"Oh," Ria scoffed. "So now we're comrades? What happened to friend?"

"You lost that title when you allowed me to be hit by Onix." The samurai got in his stance and eyed the opponent carefully, awaiting their move.

Ria quickly grew impatient with the otter. "Why are you just standing there? Attack!" she yelled at him.

The brave samurai stood before his enemy, unflinching at its powerful roar. "I must see how my enemy moves."

"Forget this." Ria said as she charged in with a Brick Break attack.

The Steelix unleashed a terrible shock wave of Dragon Breath from its mouth that blew the poor warrior back, engulfing her in the blast.

"Ah!" the samurai saw an opening. "Thank you, my impatient comrade!"

Shido jumped up and delivered two swift slashes to the snake's belly, both resulting in critical hits. The gigantic snake let out a pained roar before burrowing away deep underground.

The Samurai sheathed his scalchops and turned to see his partner just now managing to get to her feet. "Your inability to wait has succeeded in the defeat of our adversary. You have my gratitude for the moment."

Ria rubbed a large bruise on her head, growling at the samurai. "Just how come you were able to do that?"

"I waited for my enemy to strike. Upon doing that, I can see how it moves and what openings it exposes itself to."

"Ugh," the warrior groaned. "You sound like one of those Japanese infomercials."

"Tell me, what is this _Japanese_?"

Ria shrugged her shoulders as she had no clue either. "Most likely something fourth wall related. Now come on, I'm leading."

The samurai planted his feet firmly on the ground. "I refuse to follow under your leadership."

"Well," the warrior said, swinging back around with her hands on her hips. "I don't have much intention of following you, so we're at a stalemate."

Just then, footsteps from deeper in the cave echoed to their location loudly. Shido and Ria ceased their fighting and got into their fighting stances as they awaited the new enemy to come into their sight.

However, they were surprised by what they saw.

"Hey, aren't you Tew's Pokémon?" the girl asked, looking straight at the Blue Warrior. "Oh! You must be his Oshawott. Congratulations on evolving." she smiled lightly, noticing the Silent Samurai. "But… where's your trainer? Shouldn't he be with you guys?"


	23. Chapter 23

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 23

It was a white world, easily mistakable for the oblivion that the boy tried to send himself into. His arm throbbed with such a pain that it was numbing, like Novocaine had been injected throughout his entire body. But oblivion would never feel this nice, that was a fact he knew. A pounding hammer in his head ailed him as he slowly sat up. He found himself weakened, almost to the point of paralysis. To the very touch, his skin was bone-chillingly cold.

In the white world, there was nothing of significant use to him. There was a machine that he was hooked up to, but he quickly ripped that cord off, which caused an excruciating pain to shoot through his body, followed by an even more excruciating yell. Inside of him was a burning desire to escape, a pressing need to get outside. The white oblivion suffocated him. He'd always hated the color white.

But his body defied him at every turn. The cold had seeped into his bones and made him completely numb. He soon surrendered to the chills of the sweet oblivion. Thoughts of freezing in the cold abyss that he was trapped in felt good. Orgasmic, even. This was the low point of Tew's crash.

That is, until a familiar face came into the room. A pink streak of hair that fell over the boy's face quickly swelled up warm feelings in his stomach. He was just that perfect build to curl up to after a cold night on the town. The figure reached down at the foot of the bed, pulling a cyan blanket up over his frozen body. He instantly felt warmer underneath the wool bed covers. The heat returned to his body in a tingling, almost ticklish sensation that prompted him to giggle uncontrollably.

And just like that, the crash was over. Mostly.

"Tew..." the figure said with a sullen, but gentle voice that pleased his ears. "You're finally awake. I'm so glad."

The boy rubbed his eyes to rid himself of the hazy vision, as he thought seeing who he suspected to come to his rescue was too good to be true. If it were truly who he anticipated it to be, this would be a time that he didn't mind being saved. As he reopened them, he saw the electrifying blue eyes of his friend and instantly gained a big smile. His wish had come true. Seeing him made him feel alive again. "Damien!" he delightfully said, wanting to hug the boy. However, he was still a little too numb to move.

"Yeah," Damien smiled, taking a seat next to his friend's hospital bed. The smile was soon washed away by the powerful tides of a depressed scowl. It even appeared that the wave was so powerful, it flowed up to the boy's eyes as they began to water. But Damien would be damned if he allowed the flood gates to open. "I was so scared... When I noticed that Reina girl carrying you through the streets, screaming her head off, I didn't know what to think. I thought you were dead, Tew. I had just met you almost a month ago and now I had just almost lost you!"

The young boy had unintentionally grown angry with the older one's actions. His voice rose, as did his emotions. "What in the world were you thinking? Huh?! What were your Pokémon supposed to do without you? What was _I _supposed to do without you?! You were the _first_ person to talk to me during the whole competition that didn't want just a random battle. How was I supposed to deal with not seeing you again? Hearing about your attempt to kill yourself on the news?"

Tew folded his arms and looked away from the boy, not caring for eye contact at the moment. Even if he did rather enjoy his eyes. He was still upset. "I don't see why you care so much." he pouted under his breath.

"Arceus Above," Damien groaned. "Were you even listening to what I just said?"

The older boy took a deep breath and let out a small, but puffy sigh. "I'm sorry," he said in his moment of clarity. "Its a long story. I'll explain it later. Where's Reina? She found me, right?"

The younger boy nodded and parted the curtains behind him to peer out of the window. "She took our Pokémon outside for some air."

"Wait..." Tew quickly lifted the sheets to see he was in a teal gown with his regular street clothes and backpack nowhere to be seen. "Wh- where's my Pokémon? What happened to them?"

"Don't worry," Damien said reassuringly. "Reina took them with her, too. They were all outside of their Poké Balls when she found you, she said."

Tew's blonde eyebrow rose with curiosity. "Really? What were they doing out?"

The trainer shrugged his shoulders. "Apparently they were out looking for help. Your Dewott and Riolu were looking deeper into Ore Cave while your Chespin, Minccino, and Beedrill took care of you in a little hiding spot."

"Hah," the blonde haired boy chuckled to himself. "I bet my Chespin came up with tha- wait, Beedrill?" he paused. That definitely wasn't the name of a Pokémon he owned. "No, I have a Kakuna. Unless..."

"Oh!" Damien remembered. "That's right, Reina did say something about one of your Pokémon evolving on the way from the cave. I don't really remember everything she said. She talks really fast sometimes. You'll just have to ask her when she comes back."

"Wow, so Kakuna evolved, huh? I wonder how..." Tew contemplated for a moment as the two sat there in silence.

Damien suddenly leaned in closer to the older boy and took his hand into his, nearly shedding a tear. "I'm really glad you're still here, Tew."

Through looking into those shockingly beautiful blue eyes, Tew saw something in there. Something he felt safe with. It swooned him over quicker than an Attract as he sat there, letting his hand melt into the warmth of the boy's hand. However, he took the holding of hands as a gesture of friendship, something any friend would do to one another, given the situation.

"Hey, guys!" Reina entered the room abruptly. "Well, glad to see you're awake, Tew! You really scared us there for a sec." she smiled brightly as she went over to the boy, wrapping her arms softly around him as to make sure she didn't cause any pain.

The young boy snatched his hand away before Reina managed to look over at them. He put it back behind his head as if he were relaxing. "Hey, Reina." he said, casually, but Tew could tell his face was trying very hard not to turn red with embarrassment. It was obvious to him that Damien was _definitely_ hiding something.

A gaggle of Pokémon poured behind her through the door like clowns getting out of a tiny car. Belonging to Damien as they returned to his side was Anbu, his Lucario, a Grovyle, and a Gible. Reina's Pokémon, Persian, Primeape, Croagunk, and Scraggy, which he was already familiar with, having almost swept her team, remained near her. His own Pokémon, along with a newly-evolved face, climbed onto the bed with him and each hugged a limb, careful not to hug bad arm.

"Its nice to see you guys, too." Tew giggled happily. He looked over at the unfamiliar Pokémon with two large stingers and wings buzzing occasionally and playfully eyed him. "And just who are you? You don't look like my little Kakuna."

"Congratulations, Tew," Reina smiled warmly. "Your Kakuna evolved into a Beedrill just to carry you when I couldn't do it anymore. You've got a real trooper on your hands there. You're also a lot heavier than you look."

"Ah," Damien laughed, kicking his feet up on a nearby table. "He can't weigh _that_ much, can he?"

Reina's shoulders began to buckle at the mere thought of carrying him again. "He may look tiny, but the kid's real heavyweight."

"That's surprising." Tew jumped in. "I only weigh like, one hundred and twenty-two pounds. You should see what a mainly sriracha diet can do to you…"

Damien eyed the girl skeptically. "You really couldn't carry that skinny thing? I could do it with one hand."

"Well not everyone's as strong as you are, Damien." Reina said, flexing what little muscles she had. But what she did have was toned as she lifted up the lower part of her shirt. "Now," she said, pointing her defined six-pack. "If this were my arms, I'd definitely have no problem carrying him. Buuuuut I kinda skipped leg and arm day, soo.."

"Whoa, someone's a little comfortable." The younger boy joked.

"Pfft." Tew laughed. "If she wants to show off her body, let her. Everyone's equal here. If men are allowed to walk around with their shirts off, women should at the very least be able to expose their stomachs without being called sluts."

"Okay, wait." Reina sat down and curiously glared at the older boy. "Are you the same Tew I battled against a few days ago? Because that's got to be one of the most insightful things I've heard anyone say."

"What's insightful mean?" Tew asked.

Reina stood back up and smiled. "Yep, you're definitely the same Tew."

Tew scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Well, I dunno what insightful means, but I just know that everyone deserves to be equal. If men can walk around without shirts in public, how come women can't either? I mean, I get that you guys have boobs and stuff, but as long as you had a bra or something on, I don't see the big deal."

"Well," Damien said, surprised by the boy's words. "He's definitely got a point. I agree with him."

"And you know I agree with him." Reina smiled. "The world could use more dull kids like you, Tew. Maybe everyone would get along better." She playfully teased with a smile.

"Yeah, until something like this happens." Tew laughed. However, the room was completely silent. No one found that line funny. So when in doubt, he grabbed his new Beedrill and lovingly rubbed its head. "Ah, I knew I could count on you. I think its time I gave you a nickname! How's Pierce sound?"

The Sting Bee Pokémon happily nodded his head.

Reina folded her arms with a raise of both eyebrows. "That's actually a pretty impressive nickname for a Beedrill."

"Yeah, I'm surprised. Again." Damien teased the boy.

Tew rolled his eyes and sat up more. "Haha, very funny." he said sarcastically as he moved to get up. "Now come on, let's go find my stuff and get out of here."

"Whoa there, Raikou," a doctor said as he entered the room in the usual white coat and blue jeans. "You can't leave yet."

"What? Why not?" Tew asked, looking up at the tall, slender man in confusion.

The doctor took a look at both of the boy's friends and took a breath. "Uhm, how about you guys go get some food in the cafeteria? I've got to talk to your friend here for a little bit."

Damien and Reina looked at each other oddly before departing with theirs and Tew's Pokémon out of the door, closing it shut behind them.

Doctor Greene, the boy's attending doctor, sat on the foot of the bead, twirling a pen in between his index finger and ring finger. He shot a disappointed, but at the same time, concerned glare over at him. "Why'd you try to kill yourself, Tew?"

"Its a long story." Tew said instantly replied, nearly cutting off his name from the doctor's sentence. "Do you guys have any cake or something?"

The doctor shifted slightly so the boy could get the full brunt of his somewhat intimidating glare. "Changing the subject won't work on me, I have a son who's tried to kill himself three times. I know all the tricks that you'll pull."

Tew folded his arms and sat back with a cold, hazy look in his eyes. "Ever deal with someone who's tried to do it fifteen times?" he spat angrily. "You know, I just can't seem to get any better at offing myself. Pills, drowning, starvation- apparently I'm just not good at dying."

"No, you aren't." Doctor Greene chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. But he quickly did not find it any easier to breathe, as the air was still thick with tension and rage. "I'm just trying to help you. I want to get to the bottom of this so your life can be better."

"Yeah, sure." Tew groaned loudly, placing the pillow over his face and holding it down tight. "Maybe this will work." he said in a very muffled and half serious voice in a ploy to get him to leave.

The doctor failed to depart from the room and succeeded in taking the pillow off the boy's face. He then raised an eyebrow as the young one's face began to turn red. "Now what are you doing?"

Tew let out a gust of air from his mouth. "I'm holding my breath." he said as he took back in air.

"Do you really think that's going to work?"

The boy let out the air again and sighed. "Not if you keep talking to me."

Doctor Greene threw the pen up and down casually, catching it each time in his hand. "Aren't you tired of going through this?"

If Tew's leg weren't confined to the bed, he'd kick the pen out of the doctor's hand. But instead, he had to comply. "Its not like my Bipolar Disorder is just going to disappear one day."

"No, it won't. But you can learn how to manage it. Wouldn't that be good?"

"No." Tew said sternly. "I want it gone."

The doctor let out a brief sigh as he stood up and put the pen in his pocket. "It won't go away. It'll get better, but this may be something you'll have to deal with the rest of your life."

"Am I free to go now, Guard?" Tew sarcastically said.

"Very funny, but no." Doctor Greene chuckled slightly. "Because you tried to commit suicide, we have to hold you for seventy-two hours on a psych hold."

The young boy's eyes widened with shock."W- wait, you can do that? What about the Circuit? I'm part of that, y'know."

"It'll have to wait." Doctor Greene said as he departed from the room.

Tew was now left alone in the oblivion. Just what in the world was he supposed to do for three days in a hospital?


	24. Chapter 24

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 24

Day Damn One

Day one of three of Tew's mandatory psych hold had officially begun as the sun rose that very next morning. Already, the feeling of being trapped in that freezing cold oblivion was enough to make him try to escape. But doctors and nurses were standing at the ready and quickly returned him to the bed, having to strap him down for a full three hours until he cooperated.

To avoid being strapped down once again as that was literally one of the worst feelings of his life, he decided to play along with the hospital's charade of "trying to help him." While he were there, he at least figured he could give his comedic side a work out. And who better to test new jokes on than his selected therapist?

The first morning following four hours after attempting his daring escape and being freed from the belts that tied him down to the bed, a therapist came in and ushered for Tew's friends and Pokémon to leave. She was a lovely young woman in a leisurely suit, great figure, nice eyes, and even a nice personality to boot. It was just a shame she had to deal with a semi-uncooperative patient such as the boy.

"Hello there," the woman said with a soft smile in an effort to evoke feelings of safety within the room. However, being forced to stay in a Hell of ice and threatened with restraints was enough to make anyone feel a little bid excited. "You're safe here. Anything you say I'm gonna keep between me and you, alright? I just want you to know that."

Tew found the woman's words funny as she told him he was safe there. That was definitely something he didn't believe. "Yeah, alright." he said with a sarcastic tone.

The woman, Mrs. Chyka, which was on her name tag, quickly recognized the boy's uncaring way of talking. "I take it you don't believe me?"

But because he was in somewhat of a foul mood, he purposefully called her Mrs. "Chica". "I would if I weren't strapped down to the bed a few hours ago."

"That's just a precautionary measure we have to take with some of our patients to ensure their cooperation. We can't just have you running around out there like you are now." Mrs. Chyka explained.

"And just how am I right now?" the boy asked.

"You're hurting, I bet. Sad, confused, anxious- you just want it all to end, don't you?"

Tew's eyebrows rose and his curiosity was stroked immensely after hearing a certain word escape the lips of the brunette therapist. "I'm... hurting?" he repeated.

The woman could see that in the boy's twinkling green eyes, she was spot on with her analysis of him. "Yes, you are."

Tew quickly shut down with a fold of his arms, closing himself off to her. "W- well even so, that doesn't mean I have to stay here for three days."

Mrs. Chyka homed in on his attempt to evade and took out a little green, squishy ball from her pocket. "Here," she said, throwing at the boy.

Prompted not to get hit by it, Tew was forced to open his arms and catch the ball. As he held it, he squeezed it tightly. Much to his surprise, there was a beanbag tucked deep inside of it that made a little rattling noise when he tossed it up and down in his hands. If there was one thing our hero slightly enjoyed, it was a beanbag ball. The therapist motioned for him to toss it back and forth with her and they began doing as such.

"So," Mrs. Chyka spoke after a minute of silence, throwing the ball with the boy. "Doctor Greene tells me you're part of some kind of tournament?"

Tew nodded as he gently tossed the ball back to her. "Yeah, I'm competing in the region's Champion Circuit. Its this thing where you run around for an entire year collecting eighteen badges. Then when you have them all, you get to compete in the Pokémon League. The winner of that gets crowned an official Pokémon Master."

"Oh?" Now the therapist's curiosity was genuinely stroked. Although after encountering many therapists, he thought she was just digging deeper inside of him by pretending to be interested in his life. "What does a Pokémon Master get to do?"

The boy thought to himself, but could only come up with a shrug of his small shoulders. "No one really knows. There hasn't been one, yet. Ever, actually. So whoever wins this will be the first Pokémon Master."

"Well, that sounds exciting." The lady smiled. "I see you've already made some friends, too. What were their names again?"

"Oh, the boy is Damien and the girl is Reina. Reina was more of a rival than a friend, though. But after saving me, I only see her as a friend now."

"They seem like good people." Mrs. Chyka said with a smile.

"Yeah," Tew followed suit and also smiled. "I told them they didn't have to stay here with me the whole three days I had to be held here, but they weren't having any of that. They're really good friends."

"So," the therapist continued as she unraveled bits and pieces of her patient's life. "Tell me about Reina. What's she like?"

Tew began spouting off things like an open book. Without realizing it, he had put himself in a vulnerable position, just as the therapist wanted him to. "Well, Reina's a really good trainer, especially with her Persian. Those two are unstoppable. She's really nice and chill. I like talking to her. But sometimes she skips meals to make sure her Pokémon eat, and that worries me a little. So I gave her some of my crackers and made her promise to eat them, although I'm sure she didn't."

"That was very nice of you." the therapist smiled. "You really care about your friends, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Tew smiled happily. "I care about everyone I meet. I wanna help everyone, if I can."

Chyka raised her head, interested."If you can?"

"Well, I mean, I've gotten around enough to know that some people can't be helped."

"Hm." the therapist smiled a little. "That's a good thing to know. There are indeed some people that, if they don't want to help themselves, then they can't be helped and you have to let go."

Tew nodded in agreement with her. "See? You get me," he smiled.

The therapist chuckled and sat back in her chair. "Its my job to get people so I can help them." She then quickly sat back up and leaned forward with a concerned look on her face. "Do you think you're one of the people that can't be helped?"

Tew fell silent for a short moment as he gathered the energy to be truthful with himself. "I dunno," he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think I'm beyond help. Just sometimes... I don't really think there's hope. I used to try so hard to be happy. But it just sort of never worked. Whenever something bad came around, it all just crashed."

"Ah," the therapist said. "Well, you know, you're not beyond help. In fact, you're perfect for it."

"R- Really?" the boy said in shock. "But how do you know?"

"I have my ways." Chyka smiled somewhat confidently. "Now, you had another friend, right? Damien, was it? Tell me about him."

The boy threw the ball back at her, laughing as she narrowly fell out of her seat in an attempt to catch his bad throw. "Well, Damien's really nice and chill, too. He's kind of quiet though. It always takes him a minute to kind of get into conversations when Reina's around. But he'll talk my ear off when it's just us two. He did that last night when Reina fell asleep."

"Well, you've got some really good friends with you. I bet its fun traveling together."

"Oh, we don't travel together." Tew shook his head. "We're all part of the circuit, so if we go everywhere together, we're gonna know each other's strategies and won't be able to beat each other when we have to battle."

"How do you feel about that?" the therapist asked.

Tew simply shrugged his shoulders again as he caught the ball and played with it in his hands. "I dunno," he said. "I guess I don't mind it _that_ much."

"Sounds like you mind it a little bit." Mrs. Chyka chuckled.

"Well, yeah," he sighed. "I guess I do. I wish I could have traveled alongside this guy that was my roommate back before the challenge started."

"What was his name? Can you tell me about him?"

The tone in Tew's voice suddenly shifted from a happy, nonchalant, to a reclusive, almost saddened tone. "Well, his name was Sasha. Sasha Lovell."

Chyka suddenly stood up, checking her watch and walked towards the door. "Well, you'll just have to tell me more about him tomorrow." She placed her hand on the door knob and looked back at him. Her mouth almost looked ready to explode. There was definitely an idea on the tip of her tongue that she wanted to say. "There's a therapy group that meets on the psych ward every day at around.. one. So its a little too late to go right now. But they talk about depression and some other things. I think it'd be good to check it out."

Tew shrugged his shoulders and reluctantly agreed to at least think about it.

As the woman exited the room, his friends came pouring back in.

"Hey, Tew." Reina said as she tossed a small cup to him. "We got you a little pudding cup. Figured you were hungry."

Tew caught the cup in his hand, noticing he still had the green ball, and took a look at it. "You sure you don't need it more than me?" he teased.

"Hah," Reina scoffed. "Very funny. I already ate today. Your Pokémon made extra sure of that, too."

"Aw, thanks, guys." Tew said as rubbed each of his creature companions.

Damien took a seat in his usual chair closest to the bed and kicked back. "So what'd you talk to the therapist about?"

"Damien," Reina eyed him. "You know that stuff is confidential." She then turned to the older boy and smiled. "So what'd you talk to the therapist about?"

"What happened to confidential stuff?" Tew folded his arms and looked at her sternly, but playfully.

"Come on, its just us girls here. We can talk about it." Reina teased.

"Ah!" Tew squealed. "How'd you know I was gay?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "We talked about boys, remember?"

"Oh," he remembered. "That's right. Silly me." Come to think of it, he'd seen a lot of shoulder shrugging today. "But I'm still one of the guys, so..."

"I know, I know." Reina repeated. "I was just kidding around."

"Well," Tew sighed. "If you guys _really_ wanna know what we talked about, we talked about you guys."

"Really?" Damien leaned in, suddenly interested. "What'd you tell her?"

"Just stuff. How cool and nice you guys were." Tew smiled. "Seriously, you guys don't have to stay here with me for the three days, you know... The Circuit is still going on. Aren't you afraid you'll fall behind?"

"Pfft." the younger boy dismissed it. "We've got an entire year. Three days won't make a difference."

"Besides, you like having us here don't you?" Reina asked.

Tew nodded without a single doubt in his mind. "Of course."

"We like being here with you," she smiled. "You're a great guy. Just a little troubled is all."

"I like having you guys here, really. I'd probably go crazy without people to talk to. So... thank you. A lot. It means a lot. I love you guys."

"We love you too, Tew." Reina and Damien smiled, but then looked at each other and laughed,

Tew looked at the two teens oddly. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Your name and the word 'too'." Damien chuckled. "They sound exactly the same!"

"Its like we just said too-too!" Reina laughed. "Hey!" she suddenly snapped. "Maybe we should put him in a tutu!"

"Hah," the younger boy laughed. "That'd be funny!"

"Oh Arceus..." Tew groaned to himself. "Please... I don't do drag very well."

And with that, it seemed that day damn one went pretty well for our young hero. With friends like Reina and Damien by his side, he knew he could get through the next two days easily. Other than orderlies coming in to check on him every few hours, they chatted and laughed the night away while Tew survived on pudding and other delicacies the hospital had to offer.

"Ack! Chester! Give Scraggy his popsicle back!" Tew yelled.

The hedgehog ran around the room with the chocolate ice cream in his paws as the little ruffian gave a valiant chase.

"Jeez, why are you two always fighting?" Reina said as she attempted to catch the Chespin.

Chester accidentally tripped and the ice cream went flying through the air and splattered all over the floor. Both he and Scraggy were devastated as they sat on their knees, running their paws through the melted mess and mourning the loss of their beautiful dessert.

Chilla's special ability, Acute OCD activated as he began habitually scrubbing the floor with his tail. He soon became covered in a sticky mess that disgusted him so much, all he could do was lay there and cry.

Shido then thought it would be a good idea to blast some water on him, but that only made matters worse, which made Ria laugh at his failure, which in turn, made matters even worse than they were before. The two then got into a slap fight along with Chester and Scraggy throwing punches like nobody's business.

Thankfully, Anbu, Damien's Lucario, jumped in and saved the day. He single-handedly broke up both fights and placed each one of the squabbling Pokémon in a ten minute time-out session.

So, maybe the _entire _night wasn't spent laughing, but they threw jokes at each other, discussed life, and got to know each other better.

"So where are you guys from?" Tew asked each of his friends.

"I'm from Fortree City in Hoenn." Damien stated.

"And I'm from Cianwood City in Johto." Reina said.

Tew was shocked that he had never heard of those regions before. "This is so weird! How are you guys from places I've never heard about? I mean, I know that there's still tons of things out there to discover, but still. My friend Grace was from some other place too that I didn't even know existed." In his state of astonishment, he pulled up the Map app on his Pokétch and searched for the regions. "My map is saying it can't find them."

Damien and Reina quickly pulled up their maps as well, but managed to find their continents just fine.

"Where are you from?" Damien questioned.

"I'm from the Chigoku Region."

Reina entered the name into the search bar, however, nothing turned up. "It says it can't find _your_ region, Tew."

"But I can put it in on mine and it'll find it just like that!" he said, showing the two his region outlined in yellow on his Pokétch. "What in the world is going on here?"

Such mysteries would have to wait, for now was the time to sleep as night fell over the world. Day number two was just getting ready to begin.


	25. Chapter 25

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 25

A Long Day Two

It was the second day of our young hero's psych hold. He felt a little pained from his all pudding and sweets diet, but other than that, the boy appeared to be doing fine. As long as his friends were there, he was pretty much happy. When they left, however, he fell silent. It was like they took his exuberance with them when both of them were gone at the same time. But they were never gone for long. At the most it was just ten minutes.

Seeing as how Tew agreed to attend the group therapy session, his therapist, Mrs. Chyka, escorted him to the room personally. "How are you feeling?" she asked as they walked down the hall.

"A little cold, but fine." Tew said as he shivered in his hospital gown. "Do you really think this will help?"

"I'm positive it will." Chyka nodded. "You just have to participate, is all. Don't worry, the kids here are really nice."

Tew had regressed from his usual, outgoing self into a shy, somewhat intimidated child. Everything about the hospital scared him now. The nurses running around looked like colored, blurry streaks coming whisking past him like gusts of wind. A horrible, foul stench of assorted cleaning supplies was so repugnant that it stung his nasal cavity. It almost made him want to stop breathing. But the worst thing about the cold hospital was meeting new people.

When he crashed, he was pretty awful at social interactions. Not to the extent his sister, Grace, was, mind you, however it was pretty close. Just the mere thought of having to open his mouth to talk to someone he didn't know drew the breath from his body like a vacuum shoved down his tiny throat.

Chyka led the boy through a door that blasted him with chilling air once stepped through. He turned around to see she was no longer there. Instead, only a door quickly trapping him inside had the pleasure of smiling at him. He turned around to see other kids, also in hospital gowns, sitting in a circle with an older gentleman, none other than Doctor Greene himself, playing the head of the group.

Many beady eyes of all different colors burrowed into his fragile soul. But there was one set of eyes he did not expect to see that made him want to break out of his introverted shell and scream. A pair of crazed, optical devices that he had known all too well thanks to years of torment by the person's hand. It made him sick. It made him emotionally sick. It made him _physically_ sick. The thoughts of suicide began to flood back into his head like a tsunami swallowing up a nice, quiet town next to the beach.

He suddenly snapped out of his fright-induced trance to the sound of the doctor calling his name in a soft voice. "Tew? Are you with us?"

"Y- yes." he stammered. His mouth was so dry he found it hard to breathe. Daggers in his throat so thick and sharp that he didn't even want to talk. "I'm here. Hi."

"Hello," the doctor smiled at him. "We're all very happy you could join us today. Please, come take a seat."

There was only one seat open, and it was next to the person that he hated most in the entire world. It had been months, even a year or two since he had been so close to the human that after taking away everything he could have possible owned, still had everything they dreamed of. This wasn't the time to battle it out but he wished it were. Oh did he wish with every bone in his delicate body that he could just reach out and strangle them until he was able to watch the life fade from their eyes with such satisfaction that it could make his mouth drool at the near thought. But today was not that time.

Tew took a seat next to the person he most despised.

"Everyone, this is Tew. He'll be joining us today." Doctor Greene addressed the group. "Why don't you stand up and tell everyone a little bit about yourself and why you're here?"

The dark blonde haired boy gulped as his buckling legs forced him off his chair. A knot in his throat, coupled by the painful daggers, created an odd itching sensation that when he tried to talk, made his voice raspy and somewhat unclear. "H- hi. My name is Tew Hylandius. I'm a Pokémon Trainer from Chigoku. I run a guild called The Weedles, and I'm here because I'm depressed and have bipolar disorder and I need help dealing with it all."

The group of troubled children clapped as he sat back down to his seat. One by one, they each stood up and introduced themselves like robots functioning on their basic programming.

A young, pale girl who didn't have a hospital gown on stood up before the group. Most kids found it odd that she was allowed to wear her street clothes- just a gray colored t-shirt and jeans- while they had to wear their robes. "Hello, my name is Gabrielle Turner. And please, _don't _call me Gabby. I'm a Pokémon Trainer that grew up in Rustboro City. I suffer from claustrophobia, I can be under-confident, and I really hate big crowds... kind of like this one." she awkwardly said, quickly sitting back down in her chair and folding her arms, closing herself off. "Oh, and I'm not a patient here."

More kids stood up, introducing themselves. But all Tew could focus on was the most dangerous person alive sitting literally right next to him, not even looking in his general direction as if he didn't care. It was almost as if the person didn't even know Tew existed. They've had a history of acting, which he could vouch for, however.

After a few kids went, a tall boy stood, surprising everyone by his height and told the group who he was. "I'm Damon Saber. I grew up in Johto and like a lot of you, I'm a Pokémon Trainer competing in the Circuit as well. I lead the Sapphire Sea Guild. Um, I suffer from PTSD and can't sleep all too well. I think that's it." the boy said as he sat back down, letting out a sigh. He began making a beat by patting on his legs for some odd reason, probably trying to distract himself from thinking about what triggered his PTSD.

Every bone, every cell, every organ- every fiber of Tew's being screamed out to murder the person next to him in cold blood. Just end it all and then end himself. Everything would be over and he could finally be free of the wretched person's torment, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. All it would take was just one simple slip of both of his hands and he could immediately shatter the person's neck.

"Soren?" the doctor said, trying to bring another kid back into reality. "Soren, I know you hate talking, but you have to tell these people a little about you. Everyone here has been participating so nicely, won't you?"

Tew looked over at a boy that slowly stood up with his head held down. He was around his height, maybe an inch or two shorter. His face seemed blank, devoid of almost all emotion. There was literally nothing in his shiny, but empty, desolate green eyes. It was like he was just a lamb being led to the pasture. "I am Soren Hellsén." he simply stated and sat back down, shutting down harder than anyone else there.

Doctor Greene let out a disappointed sigh as he marked something on the clipboard he held next to his chair. "I suppose that's a start. Good job, Soren."

The boy said nothing.

Round and round the kids in the circle went, rattling off things about themselves until finally it came time for that person's turn. As they stood up, Tew immediately clenched his fists and silently gritted his teeth as the human enlightened everyone as to who they were.

That was it. Tew couldn't take it anymore. His wild senses overrode any rationality he once had as he shot up and plunged the knife deep into the offender's back, twisting violently. Blood poured from the wound and onto his hands like hot cream being spilled from a cup and he enjoyed every second of it. As the person's body fell to the ground, life escaping from their eyes, Tew sat on their chest to block their airway and watched with a twisted smile on his face. The knife dragged itself slowly across his enemy's neck, applying just the right amount of pressure to sever the jugular. He then held that same blade up and plunged it deep into his skull. His body drew his last breath as he fell on top of the person he'd hated so much, both descending deep into the fiery bowels of Hell.

But then the offender's dead body began talking, as if it had not been inflicted by any kind of pain at all. Tew found his own eyes opening to see the bloody carcass of his enemy gone and everyone back in their chairs as they were before it all happened. "What is this...?" he thought to himself. "Is this some kind of second chance to not do it?" he soon quickly realized that he was in a state of psychosis for a very brief moment. He had rejoined reality just before the person began speaking.

"My name is Tel Hylandius. I'm from the Chigoku Region and I'm participating in the Circuit with a lot of you. I'm here because I have schizophrenia and depression."

Doctor Greene raised one of his bushy eyebrows in curiosity as he eyed Tew. "My, the same last name? And from the same region? Are you two related?"

Both of the boys looked at each other. Tew's eyes were bloodthirsty, ready to wrap his hands around the neck of Tel. However, for once in his life, Tel looked a little compassionate, although both of them knew it was fake. Any positive emotion that boy felt was fake. "Um," Tel started. "No. We don't know each other. Must be a coincidence."

Tew's body was paralyzed with shock. The Tel he knew would have outed them right away and made his attempt at killing him, like usual. Just the sheer fact of not knowing what the boy was planning made Tew want to fly in a blind rage and kill him right there. Screw this not being the right time or place. He could do it right now. It would be quicker than Doctor Greene could pull him off. He may be someone of small stature, but he could easily deliver a swift blow to his enemy's solar plex, stand on his windpipe, and crush the life out of him.

For some reason, for some odd reason, his body defied him. No matter how much he wanted to, there was something keeping him from doing it.

"Uh... no." Tel spoke up. "This is my first time seeing him. I guess its just a coincidence." he said, sitting back down in his chair.

"Coincidence?" Doctor Greene chuckled. "My boys, I have seen miracles take place, but this- are you absolutely sure that this is your first ti-"

"Yes." Tew suddenly spoke up and cut the doctor off. "This is my first time ever seeing him."

The doctor sat back, amused by the boy's abrupt outburst. "That's a little out of character for you, Tew. I never would've expected you to act so rudely and cut someone off."

"Yeah, well, you've only known me for a day and a half, so don't _act_ like you know me." he snarled back at the man in white.

Doctor Greene hid the faintest of smiles as he studied the boy's agitated state carefully. "Well, in this group, we have a rule to not interrupt someone while they're speaking. Do you think you can abide by this rule?"

"I suppose." Tew growled as he sat back in his seat and avoided eye contact with Tel. Just having to share a seat with his most hated enemy made his blood boil hotter than a Magcargo's body in a volcano. He burned with desire to strangle the boy, but was frozen by a chilling, unknown reason.

"Now," Doctor Greene picked up his clipboard and began writing down a few notes. "It seems that introductions took up a lot more time than I expected. We'll have to cut to our break, now. You each get thirty minutes, so be back here around two-thirty, yes?"

"Yes, Doctor Greene." the children said in a robotic, monotonous tone together.

Never before had Tew broken out of his seat so fast. He needed something to calm his racing heart. Since he had a slight pinch of ADHD inside of him, caffeine always did the trick. Thankfully, there was a fresh pot of coffee over on the table by the window. He took a cup and drank from it. The hot liquid pouring down his throat, scalding his tongue on the way was almost euphoric to him. But nothing would have compared to the thought straddling Tel and wrapping hands around his neck, choking the life out of him.

Speak of the devil, which could most possibly be Tel himself, he walked up and stood next to the boy, taking a sip of his own coffee as he stared out the window. "Hey," the killer simply said.

Tew nearly spilled his coffee, but kept his composure to show that he wasn't scared, even though he was about ready to turn as pale as snow. "Hi," the hero calmly sighed, staring out of the window with his mortal enemy. They watched as Reina and Damien played outside with all of their Pokémon.

"They must be having the time of their lives out there." Tel slightly smiled. "You know," he said, taking a lump of sugar and cream and stirring it into his coffee. "I didn't expect to see you here. Well, not yet anyway. Always knew you had problems, but I thought they'd start getting worse a little later than when you turned eighteen."

Tew was in no mood for his enemy's games and would not be fallen by the small talk trick. "What are you doing here, Tel?" he asked in a stern whisper.

Tel took a sip of his scalding hot coffee and lowered his voice. "What's it look like? I'm getting help."

"We both know that's a lie. What are you planning?"

Tel groaned at the boy's accusation. "Come on, is it really that hard to belie-"

"Excuse me, but can we just stop playing the stupid FUCKING games here, Tel?" Tew nearly exploded into a yell. Some of the children turned their heads over at them. He apologized for the outburst and kept his voice down so only the two could hear one another. "I'm so through with jumping through your little hoops and solving your elaborate puzzles. Just tell me why you're here so I can stop you."

The boy rubbed his hand down over his own face and moaned in what almost actually appeared to be agony and remorse. "You know, Doctor Greene said its impolite to cut people off. Also, when'd you get a potty mouth? You're supposed to be a clean hero, not a dirty one."

"Tel..." Tew's eyes began to water with desperation. "Just please... tell me. These are good people. I don't want you to hurt them. Just tell me so I can kill you. Please..."

"That's a little rude." Tel said as he swirled his coffee around in his cup. He took a look at the forlorn hero and felt what little of a heart he actual had sink into the black pit of his stomach. The look in his big, green eyes was serious, and spent. Tew literally wanted to just get it over with. "Is it really that hard to believe I'm here to get help?"

"Yes." Tew nodded, choking back his tears. "After everything you've done to me? Yes, it is. This stupid little lie about 'schizophrenia' and 'depression'- I see right through it."

"Come on," Tel eyed him. "You know I hear voices. Well, _voice_."

"That's only because you're insane." Tew said.

"I prefer the term schizophrenic That's actually a little offensive. I'm surprised, you're more of the villain here than I a-"

"TEL." Tew yelled in a whisper, gripping his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Just tell me... Please. I'm begging you. I don't have the energy to fight across the region with you again. I'm just asking you honestly to tell me what you're doing."

Tel swiped the boy's hands off his shoulders and got into his face, growling all the while with such a rage that a blood vessel exploded in both of his eyes, turning them a burning red. "You wanna know why I'm here?!" he yelled in a hushed voice. Suddenly, tears began falling down his face. Actual, genuine, human tears of sadness poured from his eyes like a rushing waterfall. "You really wanna know why I'm here, Tew?! Because... I miss you."

"Stop ly-"

"Stop interrupting! Its rude!" Tel hushed him. "Just... please, I've always listened to what you had to say. Just listen to me for once. Do you think I like always being the villain? Do you think I _like_ hurting people? What, do you think I've gotten some sick thrill from it all these years? No, Tew. I hate it. I hate everything I've done, but most of all, I hate myself for doing it. All of these years I've spent tearing down the world... it feels horrible. I just..." he sat his coffee down and took the boy's hands into his, making a distressed plea to his enemy. "I just want my friend back..."

Tew's eyes widened as tears began to roll down his face. Every muscle and fiber of his body told him to pull away, but his heart told him to stay.

"Remember? Remember when we used to play in the fields as kids? We'd stay out all day to avoid our father. Sometimes we'd even joke about running away together and going on an adventure... Please, I just... I just want that back. I want my friend back, Tew. Is he still th-"

Tew just had to go and be rude again by wrapping his arms around the boy and giving him a great, big hug as the two stood there and cried together. "He's still here. He's always been here." he wept into the boy's shoulder. "He'll always be here."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Credit to StattStatt for their OC, Soren Hellsén!<strong>

**Credit to W. R. Winters for their OC, Damon Saber!**

**Credit to We're All Okay for their OC, Gabrielle Turner!**


	26. Chapter 26

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 26

Crazy Day Three

"That's good, Tew... I'm glad. I'm really glad you're still here, because... _**I'm going to kill you**_."

**. . .**

Tew snapped awake in a cold sweat of blood into the freezing cold oblivion before him. The bed he laid in was soaked in sweat. His heart was racing faster than it ever did before. He tried desperately to catch his breath.

"Tew?" Sasha said as he rolled over next to him, half awake. "Are you alright?"

The boy gasped as he saw he was back in the hotel at the beginning of the challenge. He had no clue what to say, think, or feel. So many things were racing through his head. "S- Sasha?" he stammered nervously. "Yeah," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm fine."

"Good," the young boy smiled his cute smile as he rolled over again to look at him. But it wasn't his face. "Because I'm going to kill you."

**. . .**

Tew jumped awake again, drenched in a musty sweat that weighed down his hospital gown. His mouth was drier than a desert as he tried to recover his breath.

Damien woke up and groggily walked to the side of his friend's bed. "Hey, Tew, what's wrong?" he yawned.

Tew nearly screamed as he saw Damien's face, expecting it to be Tel's just as Sasha's was minutes ago. Only those electrifying, blue eyes looked at him, not the ones of a killer's. He felt his heartbeat slow down as he quickly realized he was actually awake this time. His eyes scanned the room to see all of their Pokémon and Reina fast asleep underneath blankets. "I- I-" he stuttered.

"Here," Damien said as he handed him a glass of water, seeing that his throat was dry and lips were crusty.

The boy graciously took the water and guzzled it down like he hadn't had any in days. He instantly felt a wave of relief flood his body as he was finally able to talk. "Oh, thank you so much." he whispered.

"What happened?" the younger boy asked.

"It was nothing." he said, still trying to get some more air into him. "Just a nightmare is all." His mind instantly went back to the events of the day before- the group therapy session he attended. "There was that girl named Gabrielle who hated being called Gabby, that really quiet guy named Soren, and some kid around my age named Damon." He tried as hard as he could, but he couldn't recall Tel physically being at the session. It was only a dream that he was there.

Damien looked at his friend oddly. "You okay...?"

"Yeah!" Tew nodded his head, rubbing away all of the fear and distress that was on his face. "Sorry, it was just a really bad nightmare."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Not really." he lied. He remembered every single vivid detail of everything about the dream. It was burned into his head like the branding on a farm animal. But it was just a dream, so he decided to ignore it. "What time is it?" he asked, letting out a small yawn.

Damien checked his Pokétch and yawned right with him. "It's about two in the morning."

"Hey," Tew smiled. "Just twenty-two more hours and then we can all get out of here." As he waited for the younger boy to laugh, he noticed that he had already fallen asleep back in his chair, now that he knew Tew was safe. It took a while for him to drift back off into slumber, but as he did, there was a thought he focused on that he allowed himself to dream about. It wasn't the nightmare, it wasn't Tel, it wasn't Hyland- it was those shocking eyes that always made him feel alive when he looked into them. Damien's eyes.

**. . .**

"So," Chyka said as she sat down in the chair in the chilling oblivion, shivering slightly. "Word on the street is that you had a nightmare."

"What?" Tew scoffed, tossing the green ball in his hand. "Rumors. Who said that?"

Mrs. Chyka sighed as she crossed her legs. "You know I can't tell you that."

"Dang it, Damien." Tew said under his breath. He knew the jig was up, so he might as well come clean about it. "Well, yeah, I guess I had a nightmare."

"Do you remember what happened in it?"

Tew thought to himself for a brief moment before shaking his head. "Not even a little bit."

"Ah," the woman said, sitting back in her chair. "So, how did the group therapy go yesterday?"

"Well, after you turned me loose like a lost Lillipup, it actually went pretty well. I met some really nice people there. I sort of thought everyone would be kind of crazy, but... they were all pretty normal. They'd just gone through more stuff than most people have."

"That's exactly right." Chyka smiled. "What did you learn there?"

"Um..." Tew recalled the events of the meeting yesterday in his head. "I learned that nothing is forever and sometimes you just need to let go and move on. I also learned that over half of the time, nothing is ever as bad as it seems because we can blow things out of proportion in our heads."

"Anything else?" the woman asked. She leaned in as if she expected more from the boy.

Tew took another moment to think to himself before answering again. "Well, I also learned that I'm not the only one that cuts themselves. And that you shouldn't just turn to the knife when things get bad. You acknowledge the problem, take the necessary and proper steps towards handling it by critically thinking about the situation, and you don't let it take power over you."

"My," Chyka smiled. "I'm pleasantly impressed. Do you feel like you'll be able to handle your problems now?"

Tew nodded happily as he continued to toss the ball in the air. "Yeah, but I learned that problems and stuff don't just disappear overnight, so I shouldn't make the unrealistic goal of 'I'm gonna stop cutting cold Torchic'. Its like a candle slowly burning until it gets to the really good and strong part of the scent; I'm just weaning myself off from it until I can get to the good scent of life. … If that made any sense."

"Yes," the therapist chuckled to herself quite a bit. "As messy as that analogy was, it made perfect sense. Now, last we met, you wanted to tell me about this 'Sasha' friend of yours, right?"

"Actually..." Tew gripped the ball in his hand and looked up at her with a smile. "Let's not talk about him right now. I have a question for you."

"Oh?" the woman raised a curious eyebrow. "What would that be?"

"When did you know that without a doubt, you liked your husband?"

Mrs. Chyka smiled as she cleared her throat. "Well, I don't know about a husband, but I knew without a doubt that I liked my _wife_ when we were just sitting on the couch together one night, watching a movie. I just happened to steal a glance at her face and something came over me. It was like this incredible feeling that even though we were watching one of the world's most boring movies together, I was still having the time of my life. But it wasn't even her face that made me feel that way after I looked at it."

"Then what was it?"

"It was her eyes. Whenever I looked into them, especially at that moment, I felt alive, like I was on top of the world. Why do you ask?"

"Erm..." Tew blushed as he continued to throw the ball up in the air, trying to avoid eye contact. "N- no reason. Just, uh... Just wondering is all."

"Hm." Mrs. Chyka eyed him carefully as she sat back in her seat. "Really, now? Well, if you don't want to talk ab-"

"I think I _might_ like Damien." Tew cut her off. "I dunno. It's just... when I woke up from my nightmare last night, he was right there. It made me feel happy, like he really cared. He's really sweet, too."

"Sounds like someone's got a crush." the woman teased. "But, do me a favor and remember something for me? Don't confuse friendship with feelings of interest. You were in a vulnerable state and Damien was just being a good friend by coming to your side. I'm not saying that he doesn't like you the way you like him, but I'm not exactly saying the same thing either, alright?"

Tew understood and he nodded. "Right. I gotcha."

Mrs. Chyka quickly checked her watch and stood up, smiling at the boy and shook his hand. "Well, Tew, its been a pleasure talking to you. I had fun. But now I've gotta go save some other kids. You take care now, you hear? I don't ever want to see you back in this hospital again unless you're dying of some uncontrollable disease."

"Sure," Tew laughed. "You got it. But what about the reason why I'm in here? We never discussed that."

The woman only smiled as she headed towards the door and walked out of it.

"Hey!" the boy called out, noticing he still had the green ball. "What about the ball?!"

But it was too late, she was already gone. Usually, Tew would have felt sad when someone walked out of his life. This felt different to him. He felt happy, which was something he hadn't truly felt in a while.

**. . .**

"Chester, Scraggy, stop fighting!" Tew sternly ordered from his bed.

The two Pokémon were at it again, this time over a piece of cake. Chester had obviously seen the cake first, which mean it was his. But Scraggy took the piece first, which also meant it was his. They were at a stalemate and the only thing to decide who would get the chocolate cake was a show of brute strength. So as the big, tough, and powerful Pokémon they were, they got themselves into a slap fight. This was universally the best way to determine who was more powerful.

Reina knelt down and held each of them at bay with her hands, kicking the piece of cake across the floor. "There, now no one gets it."

No one except Ria, of course, as the delicacy slid right to her feet. She picked it up and took a bite, savoring the wonderful chocolate-y flavor within her mouth. It was like she'd ascended to heaven as she took another bite of the wonderful cake.

Anbu, Damien's Lucario, stood against the wall with his arms folded, emanating his usual distant attitude, but a desire burned deep within him for that cake. He could take the little Blue Warrior in a fight easy and steal it from her. But thankfully, Ria was able to pick up on the fact that he wanted some and split what remained in half for them to share.

Chester and Scraggy immediately began yelling so many profanities at the two Aura Pokémon that you'd think this fanfic was rated M for Mature. They were noticeably upset at the fact that now neither of them could enjoy the cake that they so wanted. But suddenly, their noses picked up on that very same smell of chocolate. Neither could ever forget such a sweet, but strong and powerful aroma that made them drool.

Tew realized exactly how much trouble he was in when he looked down to see an extra piece of chocolate cake sitting in his lap. It was nearly perfect and untouched, except by the pristine knife that cut the slice. "Uh..."

Chester stood staring at his trainer with his big, brown eyes begging for the cake. Scraggy did the same, but because the boy felt no emotional attachment to the Pokémon, it was useless.

Emotional attachment didn't mean crap when it came to cake, though. Tew smiled brightly and scarfed it down like it was his last meal, slamming his plate on the table near him and yelling "HAH!" at the two gluttonous Pokémon. "Take that!"

It was then that both Chester and Scraggy agreed to a temporary alliance against a common enemy. They put their hands together and formed a combination of Energy Ball and Focus Blast and let it rip as a joke. The mixed attack was quickly bounced away by the joined efforts of Shido and Nu Wa, Damien's Sceptile. Surprisingly, they had formed an unexpected bond as they practiced their form of attacks together.

"Yeesh," Tew groaned. "Looks like you guys actually _can_ get along."

But that was short lived. Chester and Scraggy were already wrestling on the ground for Arceus-knows-why.

"Well, you know what they say," Damien said as he leaned back in his chair. "If two people fight, they really care about each other."

Chester and Scraggy briefly united their forces and let an Energy-Focus Blast rip at the younger boy as they immediately went back to fighting. The boy coughed up smoke, but was alright. It was much weakened attack from the two of them, so he was never in any real danger.

**. . .**

"I just wanna go outside." Tew said as he stood before a hallway block of orderlies. "Please, I get released tomorrow. Just let me out there for a few minutes."

"I'm afraid we can't let you do that." one of the nurses said as they stepped forward.

"Come on..." the boy groaned. "I smell like sweat and masturbation. It should be a law that I get some fresh air right now."

"Be that as it may," a nurse said nasally through pinching his nose. "We have our orders. You are not allowed outside. Now, please, go back to bed so we don't have to smell you."

Tew folded his arms and looked away from them, mumbling a request under his breath. "Well... can I at least have a bath and a cheeseburger?"

**. . .**

"Aw man, you've got cheeseburger breath!" Reina said as she covered her nose after getting too close to the older boy.

Tew took a quick whiff of his pits underneath his hospital gown and shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, at least I smell clean now."

"Thank Arceus..." Damien said, letting out some breath that he'd been holding back. "You were getting a little gamey there."

"What do you expect? No one came by to bathe me or anything."

**. . .**

Tew laid in his bed later that night, staring at the white ceiling and counting the little black dots on it. He was up to about four hundred, just about to break his previous record of four hundred and ten when Damien got up to get a glass of water. "Aw man," the boy groaned. "You threw me off track."

"Sorry," the younger boy laughed. "I didn't mean to scare you or anything. Just got thirsty."

"Yeah, well your thirst cost me a new record. Now I'll never get into that big book of world records." he pouted.

"Pfft. What are you talking about?" Damien scoffed as he slid his chair over to his friend's bed. "You're already in there."

"Okay wait, now what are _you_ talking about? I'm not in there."

"Yeah, you are. World's Most Weirdest Trainer I've Ever Met."

"Oh haha," Tew sarcastically laughed. "Very funny. Next you're gonna tell me that there's a world record for the most sriracha eaten in one sitting."

Damien shrugged his shoulders as he took a sip of his water. "There probably is. There's a world record for almost everything, I think."

"Oh man, I'm a shoe-in for that one then."

"So why'd you do it?" the younger boy asked, quickly changing the subject and the mood.

Tew let out a small sigh. "I guess it was because... I felt like I couldn't do anything right. I felt like I was failing my Pokémon and that they and all my friends deserved better than to have to deal with me day in and day out."

"You know that's wrong, right?"

The older boy shrugged his shoulders. "I mean... not right now. But I'm starting to slowly realize it."

"I want you to know something."

"What is it?"

He did it again. Damien's hand seemed to slip into Tew's, but it felt like no accident as their fingers intertwined with each other perfectly until they were bonded together by a tight grip. "Even if you feel like you're doing everything in the world wrong... You're always doing three things right. The first one, the biggest one, is that you're alive. The second one is that you're Reina's friend. And the third one that's my favorite, is that you're _my_ friend."

But what did that mean? This wasn't just a missed movement of his hand. Damien planned to hold Tew's hand. But does that mean he's...? "Hey, Damien, are you...?"

Their lips suddenly locked together in a fiery act of passion as they embraced one another in a deep, sensual kiss. The cold oblivion that froze him to his very core was torched away, ignited by a burning fire of inside of their hearts that was finally awoken. Every part of his body was stimulated and on edge more than it had ever been before. This wasn't just a kiss between two young boys, but a convergence of their understanding and care for one another as their very beings united, their souls dancing with one another atop a scarlet floor that ebbed and flowed with their rising emotions. Nothing would ever be the same between those two again.


	27. Chapter 27

**AN: This story will now follow an update schedule of a new chapter every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.**

* * *

><p>The Champion Circuit<p>

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 27

We rejoin our hero a day after his release from the hospital with his friends, Damien and Reina, traveling by his side as they make their way to Regimen Town, the main part of Regimen Village at the top of Trial Mountain. On their way, they encountered a young boy who challenged them to a battle shortly after meeting them.

Tew, having not trained in days, accepted the battle to get back into the flow of things. He was happy to immerse himself in the world he had missed so much. "Well, Egan, how does a one-on-one match sound with you?"

Egan, the boy they encountered on their journey, was a young, lively kid around the age of fourteen. He had on a bright orange tank-top with black shorts, both so tight that they hugged his tanned skin. His hair was black and shaggy, like that of a surfer's. As the clothes wrapped around his skin, they showed his bulging muscles almost ready to burst through the threads, which could put even the muscular Damien to shame. He was understandably shorter than everyone, including Tew. But his short size was contrasted by the amount of strength that was held within his small body. Upon boasting of it, Damien challenged him to an arm wrestling match, to which he lost extremely quickly.

"Fine by me!" the boy happily smiled. "I've only got one Pokémon with me anyway, so that's perfect."

"This should be good. Tew hasn't battled or really done anything in a few days." Reina said as she sat down on the grass next to Damien. "Let's see how he does."

Damien scratched the under of his chin and leaned in with excitement. "I've never actually seen Tew battle. I wonder how he does."

"Kid nearly swept me with just one Pokémon." Reina admitted with a shrug of her shoulders, not being too bothered by it. "If I didn't have my Persian with me that I've been training for years, I definitely would've lost."

"Whoa," the electrifying-eyed boy gasped slightly. "Well, I guess that makes sense. I heard he was the one who made it to the bottom floor of the Wild Dome and caught the strongest Pokémon in there."

The shock she felt from that made Reina turn her head to him. "Seriously? I mean he knew he was good, but yeesh. What was the Pokémon down there?"

"Beats me." Damien said, without a clue. "Rumor on the streets is that it was a Charizard or somethin'. But he doesn't have that in his party with him so that can't it. We'll have to ask him when this is over."

"Hey, if you're ready, go ahead and choose your Pokémon." Egan called out to his opponent. "Its not like your choice will influence mine. I've only got one!"

Tew smirked as he studied the boy's physique, taking note of his muscular qualities. "You look like someone who would train Fighting-type Pokémon."

"Ah," he said, throwing his hands in the air. "You got me. Now come on! Show me your choice!" the boy said, nearly bouncing up and down with excitement.

Tew grabbed a Poké Ball from his pocket and smiled, looking at Beedrill through the transparent top. "Well of course its no doubt I'd choose something that _resists_ Fighting-type Pokémon. So," he reeled back with the ball in his hand. "Ikuzo, Pier-"

Right as he was about to toss the capsule, his Riolu preemptively broke free from her own in a flash of light and took the Sting Bee Pokémon's place on the field, growling at the boy that stood before them.

"Wha- Ria? What's up?" Tew asked as he knelt down in front of her.

The Blue Warrior turned back to him and placed her paw on his head. Her aura flowed from the tips of her paw to the boy's head. Instantly, he was flooded with a strong sense of drive and determination that really said she wanted to battle. Tew grabbed the Pokémon's paw in agreement and smiled confidently at her.

"Alright, I got you. Ikuzo, Ria!" the boy smirked, punching the air as his little warrior dashed out in front of him and took her place on the field in her fighting stance.

"So, he's going with Ria?" Reina questioned curiously. "That's an odd choice."

"Well, don't you think his Beedrill would have made the battle a little obvious anyway?" Damien sighed. "Maybe he's just thinking out of the box."

"Or," Reina chimed in. "He just caved and let his Pokémon make their own choice." She reached into her pocket and called out her prized Persian. "Wanna watch the battle?"

Persian decided it would be better to crawl into her lap and take a nap instead.

Damien's Anbu broke free of his ball out of his own free will, wanting to watch the battle, unlike the feline Pokémon next to them.

Egan smiled gleefully at the Riolu standing before him. "Hey, a Riolu! I used to have one of those when I was a kid. They're a really good Pokémon partner to have. But, that isn't what I have with me today. Here's my partner!" he yelled with a toss of his Poké Ball.

A skilled martial artist appeared in a flash of light, throwing punches and kicks in the air so powerful that it whipped strong torrents of wind past the opponents.

"Meet Medicham," Egan grinned. "My irreplaceable partner!"

Tew and Ria simultaneously cracked their necks and both shot sly smiles at their opponents in perfect sync. "Your partner may be irreplaceable," the boy said. "But can you guys beat our bond? Go, Mud-Slap!"

Ria pounded her fist into the ground, firing a blast of mud that shot up in front of her and tore down the field towards her opponent.

Egan closed his eyes and thrust both arms forward. "Psychic." he ordred.

Medicham's eyes glowed with a mysterious power. He released a wave of psychic energy from his body that caught the blast inches from his face. Just with a simple thought, the Mud-Slap was sent high into the sky and detonated, leaving behind no remains and giving off a bright flash of light.

Both Tew and Ria were stunned by their opponent's power as they watched their attack completely rendered useless.

Egan's grin grew wild with the thrill of battle charging through his veins like a wild Primeape. "Let's go, use Mega Punch!"

The slender Pokémon lunged at his opponent, throwing a punch that was narrowly avoided by the Blue Warrior. A tunnel of wind ripped past Tew's ears, created by the raw force of the power. It shocked him. But it also made him feel alive, a feeling he so missed.

"Use Bite!" he called out.

Ria bore her fangs as she chomped down on her adversary. With a quick jump back, she wound up biting air. That didn't stop her from chasing after him, trying to close her jaw on her opponent. Medicham's movements proved to be too swift as the Blue Warrior barely kept up.

"Wow, Medicham's pretty fast." Damien said as he examined the battle with squinted eyes. "I can barely follow their movements."

Reina took a glance at Tew and smiled as she tapped on Damien's shoulder, redirecting his attention over to him. "Hey, look. It looks like Tew's losing, but look at his face. He's smiling."

Damien faintly smiled as he watched the older trainer battle his heart out. "Yeah, I think he's back to normal."

"Meditiate!" Egan yelled.

Medicham ceased movement and closed his eyes, focusing and drawing power deep within his body. A red aura enveloped him and dissipated quickly as his Attack rose.

"They're open! Use Vacuum Wave!"

Ria quickly threw a punch out in front of her. The air around her fist swirled into a compact ball and careened down the field at a high speed, tearing up grass and dirt in its wake. As the attack grew centimeters away from his face, Medicham's eyes shot open. He quickly raised his fist and Mega Punch'd it straight into the ground, acting completely on his own from his trainer.

"Haha, that's it!" Egan cheered. "More, more! Keep going~"

"Whoa!" Damien and Reina both said in shock as the explosion from the attack covered up the slender Pokémon.

"Keep firing Vacuum Wave into the cloud!"

The Blue Warrior released wave after wave of Fighting-type power into the cloud of smoke with each one clearing bits of it away at a time. Soon, there was nothing left of the dust and Medicham was nowhere to be found. The slender fighter crashed down on the little warrior with an arm covered in psychic power that was as sharp as the blade of a knife. There was no time to react. It was almost instant.

Tew saw that his partner had fallen and was partially frozen in awe. "That's... a lot of power..." he stammered slightly as he returned his Pokémon back to her capsule for a rest, thanking her before putting the ball in his pocket.

Damien and Reina watched anxiously as this was a critical time for Tew. They impatiently awaited his reaction to the loss of the battle.

"That was a good battle." Tew smiled, shaking Egan's hand.

Egan returned his Pokémon and smiled up at him. "Thanks! I had a lot of fun. You and your Riolu are really good."

"Haha, I don't know about all of that..." Tew embarrassingly scratched the back of his head, trying to keep his face from turning red. He then noticed something odd about the boy. There was a certain piece of clothing missing from his attire that he, Reina, and Damien all had in common. "Where's your blue neckerchief?" the boy asked.

"Hm?" the young boy touched his neck and tilted his head in confusion. "My what?"

"You know," Tew said, tugging his own with his fingers. "The one you have to wear when you're in the challenge. You can't take it off."

"Oh!" Egan laughed. "I'm not in the challenge. I'm just a trainer. Well, sort of. Technically, I'm called a Gym Leader."

Tew looked at the boy curiously, sizing him up. Sure, he was physically strong, but something was off with his statement. "A Gym Leader? But you're only fourteen. That's a little weird."

"Well," Egan slumped his shoulders. "Teeechnically, I guess I'm a runner-up for the gym in Regimen Town. My grandmother currently runs it and I really want it."

"What's stopping you?" he asked the young boy.

Egan sat down in front of Tew and let out a soft sigh. "There's this dumb exam I have to complete before I can be officially called a Gym Leader. There's two parts to it- the written portion and the battle portion. I passed the written portion with flying colors, but I just can't seem to pass the battle part of it."

"Who do you have to battle?" Tew asked as he sat next to the boy and hugged his knees to his chest. "Is it some big-time examiner with tough Pokémon?"

Egan shook his head and giggled at the boy's assumption. "Nah, I gotta beat my grandma."

"Well, well," Reina said as she walked over to the two boys and sat down in front of them. "Looks like you two are getting along pretty nicely."

"Yeah," Tew nodded. "Egan's really cool."

"Aw shucks," Egan giggled, playfully pushing the older boy. "I was just telling Tew here that I'm not really part of the challenge you guys are in. I'm next in line to run the gym in Regimen Town."

"Whoa," Damien said as he plopped down closely next to Tew. "A kid as young as you going up to be a Gym Leader? That's impressive."

Reina folded her arms and examined the young boy with her eyes. "Yeah, I gotta admit, I've never met a Gym Leader, or one even next in line to run a gym, as young as you. You must have some special power or something."

"Nah," Egan shook his head again, trying not to blush from the embarrassment. "I'm not that special or anything. I just know my stuff. But my grandma knows more stuff. She's who I have to beat in order to pass and become a leader."

"What kind of Pokémon does your grandmother have?" the girl asked.

Egan thought back to how many times he's lost to his ancestor. Every single time he battled her, she always faced him with the same Pokémon, but with a completely different strategy. It made him shiver slightly just thinking about the losses he's suffered. "She has a Pangoro. Its been with her since she was a baby."

"That thing has got to be mighty powerful then." Tew commented. "So what are you doing out here?"

"Well," the young boy pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and unfolded it, smoothing it out on the ground in front of everyone. "I'm searching for a Mega Stone. A Medichamite, in particular. It allows Medicham to Mega Evolve."

"I think we're all familiar with how Mega Stones work." Damien chuckled, flashing his Mega Armlet in front of everyone, equipped with a Lucarionite. "I've got one myself."

Tew took out a small, emerald-colored ring from his backpack and showed it to everyone. It had a small groove on the top of it that was missing was what assumed where a Mega Stone went. "I've got one, too."

"Wait, but none of your Pokémon can Mega Evolve." Damien commented. "At least not from what I've seen. If Ria evolved, then maybe she could."

"I have an Absol back at my guild that can Mega Evolve."

"How come you didn't bring it instead of your Chespin?"

"Eh," Tew shrugged his shoulders. "He was being lazy when I asked if he wanted to go. Besides, I've had my Chespin ever since I started my journey. I figured he was the better choice anyway."

"Anyway," Reina interrupted, drawing everyone's attention down to the piece of paper on the ground. "What's this?"

"This," Egan smiled as he held up the piece of paper and presented it. "Is a map! Its one that I made myself."

The three looked at it and saw a bunch of unreadable scribbles that looked to have been marked wildly with every single color of crayon that ever existed.

"Uhh.. I can't really read it.." Tew said as he tried to examine the map as best he could.

"Pfft," Egan scoffed as he took the paper away and laid it back on the ground. "That's because I wrote it in my secret language. I didn't want anyone but me finding this Mega Stone. Anyway, that's why I'm out here. I think if I can get Mega Evolution, I'll finally have a shot at beating my grandma and becoming a real Gym Leader."

"Well then its settled!" Tew said as he shot up on his feet. His fists were clenched tightly and a determined fire burned brightly within his green eyes. "We're gonna help you find that Mega Stone?"

Egan looked as the other two rose up next to him. "W- What?"

"I guess we've got time to spare. I mean, we have a whole year before the challenge is up." Damien said as he stretched his arms out behind him, purposefully brushing a hand past Tew's while doing so. Tew felt a warm tingle shoot through his body.

"Yeah, we don't mind helping you out. Not even a little!" Reina smiled down at the confused boy. "We could get some extra training in while we help you out, too. And that definitely wouldn't be a bad thing."

"Besides," Tew said as he offered his hand down to help Egan up. "When I go for my third badge, I want it to be against you. So I can beat you!"

"Agreed." Both Damien and Reina said.

"Guys..." Egan smiled brightly at the three of his new friends and jumped with joy. "Thanks a ton! Let's go find that Mega Stone!"


	28. Chapter 28

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 28

"Alright, guys, dinner will be ready in a few." Reina called out from stirring a cooking pot off in the distance over a campfire that Chilla graciously prepared and slaved over for her.

"Thanks, Reina." Egan shouted over at her. "Alright, now where were we?"

"Right here!" Tew yelled as he delivered a swift punch to the boy's gut, almost making him collapse from the loss of wind that shot from his mouth.

"Element of surprise... Nice..." Egan said as he fell to his knees holding his stomach in pain. "But nothing's ever what it seems!" he quickly yelled, springing back on his hands to support his weight as he swept the boy off his feet with a swift kick.

Tew crashed into the ground, but rolled back and got right up on his feet, regaining his battle stance. "Good one!"

"Let's stop for now." Egan said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "You're not half bad at martial arts."

Tew fanned himself with his hands and smiled at him. "Thanks, my Riolu taught me a lot of what I know."

"Really?" Egan eyed him curiously. "That's different. I've heard of a human teaching a Pokémon, but never a Pokémon teaching a human."

Tew walked back over to the second campfire near their supplies and sat down in front of it with him. "Neither did I until I sparred with her. Well, I did a little before when I caught my Minccino. He taught me _a lot_ about how to be clean and stuff."

"I could believe that..." Egan said as he looked over at the boy's chinchilla frantically running around the campsite cleaning things up. "He seems a little..."

"Weird?" Tew took the words right out of the boy's mouth. "Yeah, I think he might have a mild case of OCD when it comes to cleaning. But he seems to enjoy cleaning though, so... I'm not really sure what to do."

Egan shrugged his shoulders. "Don't look at me. I know less about that species than you do. My specialty is Fighting-type Pokémon. You know, speaking of Fighting-types... Your Riolu."

"What about her?" Tew sat up and looked over at him.

"Well," Egan sighed. "Its just her form and technique are a little... barbaric."

"Barbaric?" Tew asked.

Egan nodded his head and turned their attention over to Ria having a friendly sparring match with Anbu and Damien. "Watch."

Both Damien and Ria charged at Anbu, but were repelled by an outward expansion of the aura from deep within his body. Ria quickly recovered to her feet and lunged at the Aura Pokémon with sharp fangs. He held his paw up and released a Dragon Pulse weak enough only to blow her back. Damien managed to connect a jab to his Pokémon's side.

"See what I mean?" Egan pointed out. "It isn't often that you see a Riolu or Lucario that knows Bite."

Tew wiped the pouring sweat from his forehead and turned back to the Gym Leader-in-training. "So what does that mean?"

Egan sat back and stared up at the dark, night sky that was dotted with stars and closed his eyes. A small smile crept across his face as he thought back to his earlier life. "Well, back when Medicham was a Meditite, we had the same fighting style. We never really cared about form or technique. But then we had our first battle with my grandma and we lost really quick without even being able to land a single blow."

"Kind of like how I did against you." Tew sighed as he hugged his knees to his chest and looked up at the sky with his friend.

"Yeah, but once we started training and learning the proper technique, we improved almost right away."

"Really?" he asked, looking over at him.

Egan nodded his head happily. "Yeah, it was a a lot of fun learning, actually. We grew closer, too, so that was a plus. So keep your head up! Once you guys learn the right form, you'll be way stronger."

Tew managed to crack a smile and giggle to himself as the wind blew through their hair. "Yeah, you're right." he agreed.

"Hey, Damien?" Reina called out. "Can you come help me with this? I need help stirring."

Damien stopped his punch that he had prepared for Ria and looked over at her, confused. "Uh... sure."

As he approached her, his nose was instantly in heaven as the smell of a delicious stew almost lifted him off the ground.

Reina handed him a spoon and put him to work stirring the pot as she tended to the meat grilling beside it. "So, how do you think Tew's been doing lately?"

"He seems to be doing good." Damien said, focusing on stirring the food.

"Him and Egan seem to be getting along pretty well, don't you think?"

Damien took a glance at the two over by the other campfire. "Uh, yeah."

"Does that make you jealous?"

"What?" he suddenly jumped, nearly dropping the entire spoon into the pot.

"It isn't that complicated of a question." she raised her eyebrow, looking over at him. "Does Tew spending time with Egan make you jealous?"

"N- no. Why would it?" he stammered nervously.

Reina casually shrugged her shoulders and sprinkled some seasoning on one of the many pieces of meat. "No reason. Just thought you know," she stopped and walked over to him, looking him dead in the eye with a mischievous smile on her face. "Since you had that _major_crush on him..."

"Wh- what?!" Damien laughed nervously. "That's silly. I don't have a crush on Tew."

Reina playfully knocked the spoon out of his hand and onto the ground, leaving him nothing else to focus on except for her. "Hm. Really? Is that why you made out with him like crazy a night ago?"

Chilla nearly had a heart attack as he managed to save the spoon before it hit the dirty ground. He was left to taking care of the food while the humans had their fun. "Pfft. They weren't even doing it right anyway." the chinchilla grumbled under his breath.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" he proclaimed with a quick fold of his arms and a turn around.

The girl ran around to meet him face to face again. "_REALLY? _Because, you know, that was a pretty hardcore make out session you two had going on."

Damien looked away with his face growing redder by the second. "You must've just had too much cake that night! That's all!"

"Oh, noooooooo." Reina teased, poking him repeatedly in the chest. "Cake doesn't make you kiss like you two did."

"Sh- shut up!"

"Aw, come on, tell me, is he a good kisser?"

"I wouldn't know!"

"Hm. Well I guess I'll just have to go find out for myself." the girl began casually strolling over to him.

"Ah! No! Don't do that!" he yelled in a whisper as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Why not? I thought you didn't have a crush on him." she smiled slyly.

"I- I don't!"

"I bet he's got a really nice tongue."

"Arceus Above, its so amazing..."

"AHA!" Reina exclaimed, pointing at him. "I knew it!"

Critical hit! It's super effective! Damien quickly covered his mouth and swore under his breath, wanting to take it back, but knew it was impossible. He had to concede defeat. "F- Fine." he reluctantly said. "I kissed Tew."

"Ah!" Reina smiled as she hugged him. "That's so adorable! Are you guys dating?"

The boy shook his head. "No, not yet, at least. I don't wanna just rush into things."

"Oooooh, so you take things slow and steady, huh?" Reina teased him. "You know that was a pretty sensual kiss." she whispered in his ear. "You might've even taken his virginity from how hot that kiss was."

"Ew, were you watching?" Damien accused her.

She simply scoffed and took the spoon from Chilla, stirring the stew and nearly knocking him in it on accident. "Pfft. You two were so busy that you didn't even notice I slipped out shortly after the whole thing started. I've got better things to do than watch two gay guys get it on in front of me." she teased.

"Arceus Above, these humans are gonna kill me one day." Chila said as he hopped off the rim of the pot.

"I'm not gay." Damien stated. "I'm bisexual. And nothing happened besides the kiss. Like I said, I don't wanna rush into things."

"Well, for the record, you guys look cute together." Reina smiled at him. "You've got all the support I can give from me."

"So is that the only reason you called me over here?" the boy said, folding his arms and groaning a little.

"Aw darn, you figured it out! You're relieved of your duties as stir boy. You weren't really doing that good anyway."

Chilla slapped his own head and groaned in frustration. "You're not doing so hot yourself, female human! You're lucky you can't understand me."

"Aww.." Reina grinned as she looked over at Tew's Minccino making a fuss next to her. "He's so cute when he thinks he's helping." she knelt down to rub him under his chin, to which his tiny foot shook with excitement.

"Okay, I guess you're good at petting." Chilla smiled and took advantage of her for some free belly rubs. "I know I'm gonna hate myself later for this because you're dirty and I'm gonna have to shower, like, fourteen times, but I don't care right now.

**. . .**

"That's it!" Tew screamed as he pulled his Chespin away from yet another fight with Reina's Scraggy. "I'm so sick of you two always at each other's throats."

Reina sat her food down and went to retrieve her Pokémon in her arms. "Why can't you two just make up?"

"Maybe they just need to battle." Egan simply suggested. Both of the trainers turned to him with odd looks on their faces, which prompted him to explain himself. "Well, if they're always fighting like this, maybe the real reason is that they both think they're stronger than the other. So, none of them have any power to respect. Aside from yours, I mean, but you see how that's been working."

"Hm." Tew sighed. "Well, I'm never one to turn down a battle. But I dunno about this."

Egan quickly finished his food, wiped his mouth clean, and walked over to the two kids. "Well, let's see." He placed both of his hands on the Pokémon's foreheads and began concentrating deeply. A blue aura bled from his body slowly, seeping out of every muscle. Tew and Reina were astonished, but right as they pulled away, the flow of energy stopped and faded away. "Sorry, didn't mean to freak you two out. I just had a group chat with the two Pokémon."

"A group chat?" Tew asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I'm a little lost." Reina added.

The young boy sat down in front of them, appearing to be winded as he took a deep breath and relaxed his posture back. "Well, its a long story. My grandma, she's actually a Mega Evolution Sage. She was alive back her Lucario was the first Pokémon ever to achieve Mega Evolution."

"That..." Tew became enveloped in a quick silence as he experienced flashbacks of his journey to around half a month ago.. "That would make her older that any of us could comprehend, right?"

Egan looked up at the boy and raised his eyebrow curiously. "Exactly... Have you heard about the legend?"

"No," the oldest boy shook his head. "Just something I kinda picked up a little bit back. Keep going."

"Well," Egan sighed. "After she used Mega Evolution and saved the world from darkness, Arceus appeared before her and explained how he sealed the power long ago for its abuse. He then bestowed eternal life to her and allowed her to study Mega Evolution. So because she has a Lucario, she's trained with it in the power of the aura and she's trained me to use it, too."

"Whoa," Tew smiled in excitement. "That's pretty cool!"

"Wait," Reina butted in. "So if she's had that Lucario for tons of years, how come she isn't using that against you?"

"It'd be an extremely unfair match. I don't think any of us standing here or anyone in this world for that matter could stand up to a power that's been building up for thousands of years. Besides, her and Lucario aren't together anymore. They went their separate ways years ago to pursue their own goals."

"What about her Pangoro then? You said she's had that since she was a kid." the girl asked again.

"Well..." Egan sighed. "That was just sort of a lie to justify how I kept losing to her... Truth is, she caught the Pangoro as a Pancham back when I was a little kid. I just didn't want you guys to think I was weak or anything..."

Tew let his Chespin out of his arms and took a seat down next to the boy along with Reina and Damien following suit. "Hey, come on, we don't think you're weak." He placed a friendly arm around the boy and smiled at him.

"Yeah," Reina chimed in. "I mean, you pretty much beat Tew without him even being able to land a hit."

"Gee, thanks." Tew said sarcastically as he eyed Reina.

"I meant it in a good way!" she nervously laughed.

"Besides, you wouldn't be up for a Gym Leader position if you were weak. Especially at your age." Damien chuckled. "I still can't really even wrap my head around this."

"Besides, if anyone's weak around here, its me." Tew stated. Right as Damien and Reina prepared to intervene, he jumped in and made himself clear. "Before you guys say anything, I'm not saying that I'm weak in a bad way. As far as strength goes, my Pokémon and never seemed to have too much of it. But our power is in our tactics."

"But you practically sweeped the floor with me using just your Oshawott." she argued.

"Well yeah, but it took me a while to defeat all of your Pokémon though. And when it came to your Persian's strength, we were horribly outmatched. Look, my point here is that Egan is pretty strong if he beat my tactics. If that makes sense."

Egan sniffled quietly. A smile couldn't help but take over his face as he looked at each of his new friends. "I think I get it... Thanks, guys. I really apprecia-"

The sound of a small explosion nearby interrupted the boy. Everyone looked back to see Chester and Scraggy at it yet again.

"Hey, Egan, you said you had a conversation with our Pokémon, right?" Tew asked as he restrained his Chespin in a full nelson. "What'd they say?"

"They just argued over who was stronger the whole time."

Reina stood up and stroked her hair behind her shoulders, stretching her arms and stood behind her Scraggy. "I guess he's right. We should battle this out."

"Well, this should be good." Damien smirked.

Egan sat down next to the boy and leaned in, interested. "Man, wish I had popcorn for this."

Tew rose up to his spot on the battlefield and began hopping in place, getting his blood flowing. "Like I said, I'm never one to turn down a battle. Let's settle this dispute and show them who's stronger! Use Iron Tail!"

"Scraggy, Dragon Claw!"

Both of the Pokémon charged down the field and lunged at each other. They were locked and a struggle of raw power began. Neither refused to back down from the other's might. Scraggy let out a roar as he pushed Chester back from the collision.

"Nice power." Tew complimented. "Use Stone Edge! The second way!"

"Dodge it!" Reina called out.

The hedgehog slammed both of his fists into the ground, sending pillars of rock shooting up in every single direction, leaving no room to dodge. Scraggy was helplessly into the air and then, by the order of Tew, was slammed into the ground with an Iron Tail. Surprisingly, the Shed Skin Pokémon still rose to his feet.

Reina smirked as she watched her Scraggy struggle to his feet. "That's right, Scraggy. Show them how powerful you are!"

A strange, almost blinding, blue energy enveloped Scraggy's body. Streaks of light shot out from him as his form shifted and wavered wildly, growing taller before them.

"What?!" Tew gasped as he witnessed the miracle take place in front of him.

Chester, however, smiled arrogantly at his opponent's sudden evolution. He folded his arms and impatiently awaited for the process to be done.

Scraggy flexed his muscles and shook the light off his body as the metamorphosis had completed. However, he didn't emerge as the little Scraggy that they faced before. He was now fully evolved into a powerful Scrafty that roared intimidatingly at his still unevolved opponent.

"Maybe now you'll be more of a challenge after evolving." Chester smirked as he got in his battle stance.

Tew began to feel his excitement tingling all over his body as the thrill of the battle energized him. "Well, looks like you had a change!"

Scrafty held his hand out and taunted for Chester to come at him with a prideful smile on his face.

Reina checked the Pokédex app on her Pokétch and smiled. "Great job on evolving, Scrafty! We've even got new moves!"

"Too bad none of them will help you!" Tew cried out. "Chester, let's use that new move we've been working on! Aerial Ace!" he roared.

Chester dashed down the field at an incredible speed with both arms out in front of him, ready to smash into his opponent. Scraggy waited patiently for the hedgehog to get in range and quickly fell back on his hands, pushing himself off the ground as Chester blew right above him. He connected his foot to the Pokémon's stomach and sent him flying high into the sky.

"Hah, like that?" Reina smirked happily. "That's our new move- High Jump Kick! Now, don't let them rest! High Jump Kick again!"

Right as the Spiky Nut Pokémon landed on the ground, he was met with yet another kick, this time to the face.

Tew looked back to see his Chespin blow right past him and hit the trunk of a tree. "Ah, Chester! Are you okay?!"

The hedgehog could barely stand up as the green aura of Overgrow flowed from him.

"Let's wrap this up, Scrafty! Focus Blast!"

"Energy Ball!"

Scrafty charged an orb of powerful energy between his hands and blasted it down the field. It met with the incoming Energy Ball and quickly overpowered it, smashing into Chester and exploding, resulting in the hedgehog's defeat.

Tew ran collect his fallen partner in his arms. "Hey, buddy." he said, picking him up. "You did your best. That's all I could ever ask for. But don't worry, we're gonna get them back one day."

Chester managed to high five his trainer and pull of a determined smile. As Reina and her newly-evolved Scrafty approached the two, he looked down at the Hoodlum Pokémon. "So, it looks like you won." he reluctantly said.

Scrafty shrug his shoulders and smiled confidently. "Hey, what can I say? I always knew I was right."

Chester folded his arms and looked away from the Pokémon angrily, refusing to make eye contact. But he then swallowed his pride and turned his attention back to the victor, holding back the words that were on the tip of his tongue for a few seconds. "W- would you wanna maybe... I dunno, train together, I guess?" he groaned as if it were the hardest thing he ever had to say.

Scrafty reached his hand out to his rival and smirked. "Sure thing."

As the hedgehog grabbed his rival's hand to shake it, he was immediately pulled from his trainer's arms and smacked into the ground as a joke. He got right back up and the two began to participate in their famous slap fight.

"I thought we told you two to quit!" Tew scorned them.

"Knock it off you guys!" Reina growled at their Pokémon.

The rivalry between Tew's Chespin and Reina's Scrafty hadn't seemed to calm down a bit, even after they finally fought it out. In fact, their squabbling seemed to had grown even _worse_. The rest of that night was spent dissolving petty fights both of the Pokémon got into, as was per the usual when the two were out of their Poké Balls at the same time. It would seem that Egan was wrong in his judgment call, which neither trainer allowed him to forget until later their next morning as the search for the Mega Stone continues.


	29. Chapter 29

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 29

After a day of walking practically lost through the wilderness thanks to Egan's map, the team finally arrived at their destination- a hole that was previously covered up by nature's workings, such as grass and leaves. They, at first, questioned whether or not this was truly where they should be and not just another spot encountered while being lost. But Egan reassured them that this was the place his grandmother spoke of; it was called Shinka Grotto.

The group recalled their Pokémon to their capsules after having them walk with them for a while and began their descent deep underground. Strange crystals that dimly illuminated the cave with a blue light stuck out of the wall. They were both beautiful and frail as Tew accidentally bumped into one and knocked a piece of it off.

Reina stopped to examine the shard of the crystal closely in her hand. An idea formed in her head that she thought the group would like. "Hey, why don't we all make something out of these?"

The boys stopped and turned their heads back at her in a confused manner. She pulled a thick thread from her backpack and punctured a hole in the tip of the crystal shard quite easily. The thread slipped through almost perfectly. With a quick tie, she made it into a necklace and tossed it at Damien.

"Wow," Damien said as he admired the craftsmanship of the newly-made necklace. "This is pretty cool."

Egan jumped up and down excitedly. "I want one!" he said over and over again.

"Yeah, me, too!" Tew joined in with bursting excitement.

"Calm down, guys," Reina smiled as she broke off more pieces of the crystals and spun thread through them.

Tew and Egan both caught the necklaces thrown at them and hastily put them around their necks, complimenting one another and happily hugging Reina.

"I'm glad you guys like them." Reina said as she took off her shark tooth necklace and strung a crystal on the thread.

Having their new accessories to commemorate the adventures they shared together, the team continued valiantly through the crystalline cave deeper and deeper. As they pressed on, the pathway became brighter as the crystals began to glisten and dazzle with light. The crystals also appeared to be sticking out further and further onto the path as they traversed deeper underground.

Tew had stopped focusing on the trail for a second to think about food and rammed his head into a large crystal by mistake. Damien swiftly moved forward to catch him in his arms, saving him from a hard fall to the ground. "You okay?" he asked as he helped the older boy back on his feet.

Tew nodded as he stood back up and rubbed the bruise on his head. "Man... these things sure are getting big. And hard, too."

As the group continued on, they found themselves having to bob and weave through the large crystals to move forward. Tew was extra careful to not hit his head on another one as he was still feeling the throbbing bruise on his head.

Reina emerged from the crystalline obstacle course into a small, empty room that seemed to be a dead end. "Oh man, that was tough," she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. There was silence from the boys. The girl turned her head back, expecting at least Tew to complain. But no one was behind her. Thinking they were still in the maze, she peered through the cracks in between the crystals, but saw no trace of them whatsoever. Even more oddly, there was an assortment of Poké Balls on the ground in front of her as she turned back around to the room.

The capsules suddenly released the Pokémon contained within them. Appearing right in front of her was Tew's Chespin, Minccino, and Dewott; Damien's Lucario; and all of her own Pokémon.

"Wh- what?" she said, shocked. "What are you guys all doing here? What happened to your trainers? And how did my Pokémon get out?"

All of the Pokémon looked at each other in mass confusion, to which Lucario and Chespin got the group consensus of no one knew and wound up shrugging their shoulders.

**. . .**

Tew surfaced from the thick crystal maze to a large pathway with much smaller crystals, but illuminating the cave in a chartreuse color. "Man," he said as he took a rest against the wall and caught his breath. "That was tough. Everyone make it out fine?"

The boy looked back to see he was all alone. Not Reina, Egan, nor Damien emerged from the maze behind him. He even got up to check and see if they were still inside of it, but surprisingly, only his footprints were imprinted in the soft ground.

"This is weird... I wonder what happened that split us up..." he thought to himself.

A wild Beldum charged at him with Take Down attack. The boy noticed it just in time to move to the side, narrowly avoiding it. The Iron Ball Pokémon crashed into the wall, along with four other ones following it in precision.

Tew chuckled slightly upon remembering a key fact about Beldum. "Oh, that's right. When they're in a group, they all move the same way."

The Iron Ball Pokémon freed themselves and geared up for another attack at the boy. He quickly reached for the Poké Balls in his pockets, but both Pierce and Ria were involuntarily called out. His hands darted around to find that he only had their Poké Balls. The rest of his team was not with him, which he began to find exceedingly weird. But with no time to search for them, he had to make do with the Pokémon he still had.

"Pierce, use String Shot, and Ria, use Mud-Slap!" Tew quickly ordered.

The Sting Bee Pokémon quickly spun a web of thread in front of them that entangled the Beldum and stopped their movement completely. The Emanation Pokémon shot a stream of mud at the trapped enemies. It splashed all over their faces and blinded them completely. While they managed to free themselves from the ensnaring web, their vision was blocked, making them constantly ram into each other on accident.

Tew saw this as his moment to finish things up and called out the final order. "Wrap this up with Focus Blast!"

Ria released a powerful orb of energy from her paws that exploded the group of Beldum and sent them running in fear.

"Aww.." the boy groaned. "I wanted to catch one."

Hoping to catch a Beldum and find his friends, Tew continued deeper into the cave with his two Pokémon by his side. The light from the crystals began to shine even brighter, almost to the point where if he were to focus on them for too long, he would need to shield his eyes.

After walking for a few minutes, the small team encountered two Metang that fell from the ceiling to block their pathway.

"Hah, maybe I can catch one of these." Tew optimistically said. "String Shot!"

Pierce went to spin a thread to limit the movement of the two Pokémon, but was suddenly overcome with the urge to spread his wings. Not being able to resist, he flew upward and fanned out his wings. They began to glow a bright blue as razors of wind were released from them in a flurry, slashing at the Metang.

"Whoa, nice Air Cutter!" Tew congratulated his Pokémon as he returned to his side. He saw that the Metang has surprisingly taken a lot of damage from the attack and took out an empty Poké Ball from his pocket. "Is it enough?" he asked himself, courageously tossing it at one of the wild Pokémon. But a strange force simultaneously pushed the capsule back and shattered the button on it, preventing any further use. The boy picked up the broken ball and put it back in his pocket, slightly frightened. "Alright, so catching them is out of the question..."

The Metang rose up and unleashed a barrage of punches on Tew's Pokémon that beat them both into the ground fairly fast. They then raked them with sharp, metallic claws repeatedly, doing damage and raising their own Attack while doing so.

"Get them off you with Air Cutter and Mud-Slap!"

Pierce and Ria managed to blow the wild Pokémon away with blades of air and a blast of mud. The Metang subsequently fled in fear, having had enough of their might.

Tew watched the Pokémon run away and stood there confused. "Alright, this is getting a little weird." he said with his hands on his hips. "We've been at this for a while now and we haven't even found a lick of our friends yet."

But with nothing else to do, the only option was to press deeper into the cave. As the journey continued, he was forced to fight off multiple Beldum and Metang along the way. Attack after attack, Pierce and Ria successfully repelled what began to feel like an army with little effort on their parts. However, as the team trekked through the cave, the battles seemed to get harder and harder.

"_Pierce, use Twineedle!" Tew called out._

_Pierce jabbed at a wild Metang with his sharp stingers, only to miss and be met with a super effective telekinetic force of Confusion to his back. He slammed against the wall and fell to the ground, slowly managing to get back up for more. _

_Ria jumped up on the Iron Claw Pokémon's head and bit down with her sharp fangs, causing it to thrash about in pain. Pierce aimed carefully as to not hit his friend and released an Air Cutter attack that slammed into Metang's face. It quickly threw Ria off and fled, only for two more to take its place._

_Tew could see that his Pokémon were exhausted. Normally, this would be when he switched out, but without any of his other Pokémon with him, Pierce and Ria had to keep battling. There was nowhere for them to run, so that wasn't an option. "Can you guys keep fighting?"_

_Pierce and Ria smiled back at their trainer confidently, seeming to have dug down deeper inside of themselves to find the will to continue. Together, they took on the Metang with all their might, pulling off a Pursuit and Bite combination that seemed to work. The wild Pokémon roared from the force of the attack and fought back with a Metal Claw that the two Pokémon narrowly managed to avoid. They took the opportunity to blast it in the back with Air Cutter and Focus Blast, which overwhelmed Metang and sent it running out of sight._

Exhausted, Tew and his Pokémon leaned against a bright crystal to catch their breath. "Arceus Above... this is just insane. When does it end?"

Ria and Pierce leaned against each other in opposite directions to keep a look out for any other Beldum or Metang coming at them. The cave fell completely silent with the only sound being a faint humming from deeper within.

"We have to keep going..." Tew said as he stood up, digging deep to find some energy to press on.

Together, the young trainer and his Pokémon continued deep into the cave, despite their exhaustion. After walking for a few treacherous minutes, they emerged out of the pathway into a large room that seemed to be constructed completely of crystals. It shined brightly with colors of chartreuse and a dark red. The humming sound emanating from the center where a large structure of crystal sat. There were stairs leading up to the middle of it, which they took. The boy's legs felt like they were ready to give out, but what he saw at the very top of the staircase made the walk all worth it. Inside of the large mass were two Mega Stones that glimmered brightly at them.

"Whoa..." Tew said as he tried to get a better look at it. "Is that a Beedrillite? And a Lucarioite?" As he touched it, he was quickly blown away by an unseen force that threw him back to the bottom of the stairwell.

The entire room started to shake uncontrollably as the humming evolved into a loud roar. Streaks of energy shot out from the large crystal and took shape in front of the boy, similar to the evolution of a Pokémon. A large Metagross was formed by the energy and stood before him.

Tew quickly stood up, powering through his pain and confronted the Metagross that stood, awaiting their move. "What's going on here?!" he asked no one in particular.

A voice spoke out from around the cave. "You who seek to evolve further, prove your heart and strength in a battle. Now it begins!"

**. . .**

"Nu Wa, use Leaf Blade!" Damien commanded.

Damien's Sceptile slashed at the wild Snorunt with thick blades that sent it flying through the air. The Snow Hat Pokémon quickly fled after recovering to its feet.

The trainer sighed as his Gabite appeared from under the ground next to him. "Find a way out, Thantos?"

Thantos shook his head and climbed out of his hole.

"Great." Damien groaned. "So we have no way out _and _our friends are gone."

Left with no choice, the dark blue haired boy pressed on deeper into the cave, fighting off packs of Snorunt and Froslass along the way. Just as Tew's Pokémon felt, his Pokémon, too, soon began to show signs of exhaustion as the enemies they face grew tougher and tougher with every defeat. Like a Saiyan, they came back with a vengeance and nearly overpowered the three multiple times.

"_Nu Wa, Bullet Seed!" the boy called out._

_The gecko flew into the air and rained down an onslaught of powerful seeds that exploded on the Froslass on impact. Once the attack was over, the ghostly Pokémon flew out of the dust cloud and breathed a chilling gust of wind over the two opposing Pokémon. Nu Wa threw his arms up to shield his body from the wind while Thantos dug underground to evade. _

"_Ah!" Damien said as he noticed his Sceptile's legs frozen to the ground._

_Froslass prepared a powerful, shadowy orb and flung it at him. Sceptile unleashed a storm of sharp leaves from his mouth that completely obliterated the Shadow Ball and struck the ghost as Thantos surfaced and bit down on the enemy's body with sharp teeth cloaked in scorching hot flames. The frosty ghost faded out of sight, presumably fleeing from her opponent's strength._

_However, as the chilling ghost disappeared, a horde of Snorunt suddenly surrounded the team, all exhaling frosty breath from their constantly shivering bodies. They glared at the three with red, crazed eyes as if they had the intent to kill. _

"_Thantos, burrow underground around all the Snorunt." Damien ordered as he grabbed onto his Sceptile's shoulders. "Nu Wa, up to the ceiling. Quick!"_

_Nu Wa dashed into the air and hooked her scythes into the cave ceiling, tossing her trainer over to the hanging crystals. He reached his hand out and gripped one of the crystals, holding on for dear life. The Snorunt on the ground all grew angry as their targets were out of reach. As their anger rose, the ground fell, collapsing beneath their feet as Thantos emerged, having dug it up completely. Nu Wa unleashed a barrage of seeds into the crater they were now helplessly trapped in._

_As Damien hung from the crystals, the sharp edges began to dig into him. Blood leaked down his arms, causing him to fall down into the crater. Thantos quickly soared into the air and saved his trainer, landing inches away from the crater the defeated Snorunt laid in. Nu Wa joined them on the ground after swinging down from the ceiling. _

The small group was stopped in their journey upon entering a large room that seemed to be entirely composed of the crystals that he saw on his dive deeper into the cave. They glowed a thick, dark blue mixed with a verdant green that made both of his Pokémon feel at home. Nothing but crystals as far as they could all see.

In the middle of the room was a large, crystal structure in the shape of a dragon's head. Its mouth was open and there were two stones laying on the tongue. Damien and his Pokémon approached the head and took a closer look, instantly becoming shocked at what they say. "A Secptilite? And a Garchompite?" He reached his hand out to take one, but an electrical blast of energy shocked him, pushing him away. The dragon's eyes began to glow red as they leaked pools of white liquid onto the ground in front of them. Blobs of the strange liquid began to move around.

Damien shivered as the air around him grew colder and colder. He watched in awe and terror as a round Pokémon with black horns rose up and took form, staring at them menacingly as it exhaled bitterly cold breath. "Another Ice-type Pokémon?!" he growled as he readied his Sceptile and Gabite for a battle against the Glalie that stood in their way.

A voice from somewhere within the room spoke out. "You who seek to evolve further, prove your heart and strength in a battle. Now it begins!"

**. . .**

Egan wiped the sweat from his brow as he stretched his limbs. "Man, I haven't gotten a good workout like this in a long time. How're you holdin' up, Medicham?"

Medicham was as invigorated as ever. He was throwing punches and kicks wildly in the air, trying to burn off his energy, even.

"Whoa there, I know you wanna hit something, but as long as we keep facing Ghost-type Pokémon, you're gonna have to make do with Psychic and Shadow Ball."

Two wild Litwick rose up from the ground and exhaled flames that scorched the area where Egan and his Pokémon stood. They managed to roll out of the way in time to counter attack.

"Get them with Shadow Ball!" the boy ordered.

Medicham groaned and hurled shadowy blobs that exploded the two candle Pokémon on impact. The duo quickly faded away for fear of their opponent's might.

"See?" Egan smirked confidently. "Now aren't you glad I taught you Shadow Ball?"

The slender Pokémon refused to look at his trainer so he wouldn't get the satisfaction of being right. However, the persistent boy began nudging his Pokémon on the shoulder repeatedly.

"Heeeeeey," he annoyingly said. "Come on, you know I'm smart!"

Medicham playfully shoved his trainer off him and the two continued down the cave, fighting their way through groups of Litwick and Lampent that confronted them. The two made exceedingly swift work of whatever was thrown their way, even when the enemies grew stronger that Tew and Damien struggled with, it was like child's play to Egan and his Medicham.

It didn't take the two long to reach a dead end in the form of a large room, like the other two, made entirely of crystals that glowed a vibrant, dark red that made them both feel hyperactive. Leading to the middle was winding pathway like someone would see going up a hill. There was a small, Japanese-styled hut where the path ended. A gem rested on an blood red pillow underneath it.

As Egan got close, his face lit up with excitement. "Hey, its a Medichamite!" He reached his hand out, but stopped. His aura began to glow from his body and he saw a strange energy surrounding it. Knowing he couldn't pass through it, he shot a small blast of aura at it from his fingertips. The energy bounced off and hit the wall across the room.

Egan and his Medicham turned around to see a mass of energy swirling around before them. It began to slowly take shape, first with deep, yellow eyes staring into their soul. Five flames ignited from the shifting blob of energy as a Chandelure was formed. The Luring Pokémon roared, shaking the light off of it and eyed the two carefully.

An unknown voice echoed through the room. "You who seek to evolve further, prove your heart and strength in a battle. Now it begins!"


	30. Chapter 30

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 30

Tew was locked in a glare-off with the wild Metagross. Neither he or the Pokémon had moved for minutes. Both waited on each other to make a move as tension thickened within the air. The hairs on the back of the boy's neck stood up at full attention as he examined the enemy carefully, figuring out if there were any weak points noticeable just by looking. "I don't know what you're doing here or how you got here," he stated to his adversary. "But if its a battle you want, then we'll gladly accept!"

Both of his Pokémon nodded with confidence as they prepared themselves for what felt like a possibly tough battle. They got in their stances and fell still, waiting for their commands.

Little did the group know that the entire time Tew spent sizing up his opponent, it was time spent that Metagross sized them up. With the ability to think on levels of that of a super computer, the intelligent Pokémon had already predicted every move that the trainer would make and every outcome of every possible situation that could happen in the cave today. Any move the boy would make and the analyzing abilities of the four-brained Pokémon could come with at least eight ways to counter it.

Tew clenched his fist and slid his left foot over as he pointed at the Iron Leg Pokémon. "Ria, use Mud-Slap!"

A successful prediction. Metagross threw up a field of psychic power that captured the stream of mud while it was still in her hands. The unsanitary mud was brought up to her face and smeared all over her eyes. Ria screamed and thrashed wildly about, trying to relieve herself of the burning pain within her eyes.

The boy rushed over to his Riolu and took her into his arms, trying to wipe the mud off. His head rose to see Metagross still standing there, as if it were eagerly awaiting his next move.

The Iron Leg Pokémon was too smart to make a move first, as that would put it in unnecessary danger. Rather, it would let the boy come to him and have his loss be his own undoing.

"Pierce, Air Cutter!" the boy ordered.

Metagross saw two steps ahead. As the blades of wind came toward it, they were all quickly dispatched by a Flash Cannon that also took care of the Sting Bee trying to charge at it with a Twineedle attack, using the cover of Air Cutter for a surprise attack. The blast enveloped Beedrill and exploded him, sending him flying back to his trainer's feet.

Tew knelt down with his Riolu still in his arms and rested Pierce's head on his knee. It pained him to even think that he was outmatched by Metagross, but that was the hard reality. With Ria hoplessly blinded by her own attack and Pierce losing consciousness, the boy knew when it was time to quit. He wanted to encourage his Pokémon and keep going, but it pained him even more to see his friends in pain than it did to lose.

"Hey," Tew said as he rose to his feet, returning his Pokémon to their capsules. He shot a glare at the opponent and let out a depressed sigh. "I surrender." the boy said. Suddenly, after a single blink, he found himself out of the room and standing face to face with Reina. She instantly hugged him tightly with his Pokémon joining in.

"Arceus Above!" the girl said as she checked him over for bruises or scrapes. "What happened to you?! We were all worried!"

"I- I'm not sure..." he stammered, looking around and taking notice of the different room was in. His head turned back, but saw no opening in the wall that would lead him back to where he was, just the maze that Reina emerged from. Another peculiar sight was Damien's Lucario among the girl's, which allowed him to quickly see that both he and Egan were missing. "Where're Egan and Damien at?"

Reina shrugged her shoulders. "That's what I've been trying to figure out for the past hour." She then caught a look at the boy shivering with skin as pale as snow. "Hey," the girl said, taking him by the shoulders and looking him in the eyes.

He jumped slightly to her touch, avoiding eye contact. "I..." the boy said softly. His body fell limp against the cave wall behind him. He slowly slid to the ground and hugged his knees to his chest as thoughts began to race through his head like speeding trains.

"Tew..." Reina sat down next to him and put her arm around him. "Are you okay?"

The boy sniffed back his tears and shook slightly. "I just... I had to battle a Metagross back there. I lost, but... that battle... it felt exactly like a battle I had with this guy named Siphon."

"What happened?" she questioned.

"It waited for me." the boy said with a crack in his voice, bringing his hands up to his face to wipe away tears. "It never made the first move, like it could see everything I could do before I even thought of it. Siphon did the exact same thing."

"That sounds about normal for a Metagross. They've got four brains with the processing speed of a super computer. So its natural they can think a step or two ahead of their opponent once they get a chance to size them up. But as far as this Siphon guy you're talking about... no one should be able to battle like a Metagross."

"Well he did!" Tew exclaimed. "He battled _exactly _like that Metagross did! Down to the very tactics!"

"But that's impossible." she stated.

Suddenly, it clicked into his head. Everything began to make sense with the mysterious trainer that he lost to. From not even being able to land a hit on him to the wait-and-predict strategy, it finally made sense. "I think he's got psychic powers."

**. . .**

Damien and his two Pokémon stood, facing their opponent valiantly. "Let's go, Thantos, use Fire Fang!" he quickly ordered.

Thantos landed the first hit by sinking his short fangs cloaked with flames into the icy Pokémon's body. Glalie became surrounded in flames as it withstood a Burned status, halving his physical attack. This soon came to not matter as it used its ability to freely control the air around it and froze the Gabite completely. It flung the frozen enemy off its body back to the trainer's feet.

Glalie turned its attention to the leafy gecko and exhaled a blast of cold air at her. She quickly evaded with a jump and crashed down on its head with her two scythes. The frigid Pokémon proved to be a formidable foe as it used raw power to push Nu Wa off and fire a sinister beam of light that struck her in mid-air.

Sceptile fell to the ground, wildly thrashing about with no reason.

"Dammit!" Damien swore to himself. "She's confused." he turned his head to his frozen Gabite and called out his name.

Thantos heard his trainer's call and broke free from the frozen rock that entrapped him.

"Good job," he smiled. "Use Metal Claw!"

The dragon rushed at the opponent with his claws back, ready to strike. Glalie released a shock wave of ghostly energy from its body that struck Nu Wa vigorously with no let-up until it was raked with metallic claws by Thantos.

Sceptile emerged from the shock, seeming to be rid of her Confused status condition, but sustained a lot of damage from the Hex attack that unleashed on her. Thantos returned to his trainer's side and stood in front of Nu Wa.

"Whoa, Thantos." Damien stopped him. "You wanna face Glalie by yourself?"

The dragon looked back at his partner and trainer and nodded confidently at them, flashing a thumbs up with his claw. Nu Wa put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "Thank you, my friend." she said.

"Ah, don't mention it." Thantos smirked.

"Let's do this, Thantos, use Fire Fang!" the trainer called out.

Thantos lunged at the enemy with his teeth cloaked in flames. Glalie froze the air around him again, trapping him in a large icicle. The dragon, however, used his momentum to the advantage and slammed into the frigid Pokémon, shattering the ice around his body in the process.

"Don't let it rest! Metal Claw!"

Thantos mounted his enemy and began repeatedly raking it with metallic claws that raised his Attack with each hit.

"That's it!" Damien cheered. "Keep going!"

With a mighty roar, Glalie blasted the dragon off of it with a rush of cold air that flung him back onto the ground.

"Now, Leaf Storm!"

Nu Wa drew from what strength she had left and fired a storm of sharp leaves that tore down the field. Thantos nearly got out of the way in time as they all watched the frigid Pokémon get swallowed whole by the assaulting tornado.

Glalie emerged from the attack furiously enraged and blasted each of the Pokémon with chilling air that froze them both to the bone. It then released another ghostly shock wave that struck them inside of the ice repeatedly. The ice shattered from the constant force of Glalie's Hex and the two Pokémon fell to the ground, defeated.

Damien rushed to their sides and returned them to their Poké Balls. Now, only he was left with the frigid Pokémon who began to close in ever so slowly with menacing eyes and sharp teeth to rip the flesh from his bone. He threw up his hands to block an incoming gust of icy wind, waiting for it to strike him. A few seconds went on and Damien felt warmer, much to his surprise. He lowered his arms and was immediately met with a bear hug from Tew and Reina.

"You're safe!" the two of them said happily as he fell over with the older boy on top of him. "I'm so glad!" Tew said with a smile. The two shared a kiss, but immediately pulled apart once Reina "Aww!"'d at them.

"So what happened?" Tew asked as the three sat in a circle.

Damien reunited with Anbu and everyone's Pokémon joined them in the sitting circle. "Well, I got separated from you guys with only my Gabite and Sceptile. Next thing I know, I find a Sceptilite and a Garchompite. But there was a Glalie guarding them and we got defeated. What about you guys?"

Tew leaned against Damien with Chester in his lap and sighed. "Well, only my Beedrill and Riolu were with me. Like you, we found two Mega Stones, a Beedrillite and a Lucarioite, but we got taken out by this huge Metagross."

"That sounds rough." the younger boy commented, rubbing the older boy's shoulder.

"Hey, at least you guys got to go somewhere!" Reina complained. "I got stuck here with all of _your_ Pokémon. I don't even want to tell you how many times I had to break up fights between Chespin and Scrafty." she pouted.

"Ah, sorry." Tew chuckled. "But how come we all got separated?"

"Well," Reina said as she spent a few seconds in deep thought. "Basing on what I've seen so far, this cave just isn't where you find the Medichamite Egan was looking for, but a place where you could find a Mega Stone for any Pokémon with the potential to Mega Evolve. I guess it takes you on your own path if you've got the right Pokémon with you and leaves them and people without the right Pokémon in this room."

"So you mean to tell me that this cave _leads_ you on the path it wants you to go on?" Damien asked.

Reina nodded. "That's the only thing I could come up with."

"But then how come Egan didn't warn us of any of this? His grandmother is a Mega Evolution Guru, right? Don't you think she would have mentioned any of this to him?" the young boy questioned vigorously.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me. Maybe he didn't know about it. Or maybe he did and either forgot or just has some other reason for not telling us."

"Hey," Tew said as he sat up and looked around. "Speaking of Egan, where is he?"

**. . .**

Egan impatiently tapped his foot as he had no concept of the psychological tactics of the stare down the two Pokémon were in. "You guys just gonna keep standing there or is someone gonna make an attack?" Seconds passed with no resolve, so he took matters into his own hands. "That's it. I'm bored. Medicham, use Shadow Ball!"

Medicham shot a glare back at his trainer and shook his head, communicating that it wasn't a good idea. In that split second, he was met with a powerful blast of fire to the front of his body that pushed him back into the crystal wall. He quickly surfaced from the attack and shook the flames off him, getting in his fighting stance.

"See?" Egan annoyingly said to his Pokémon. "Staring contest don't do anything for you. Now, will you please use Shadow Ball?"

The Meditate Pokémon groaned at his trainers naivety as hurled a shadowy blob at his opponent. It exploded on contact, but the Chandelure quickly rose up from the blast. Its body began to overflow with light as it fired a powerful ray that consumed Medicham whole with its power and resulted in a massive explosion.

Surprisingly, Medicham seemed to had weathered the attack pretty well as he was still on his own two feet. By the order of his trainer, he let a few more Shadow Balls rip, which were dodged by the opponent's deft movements. He soon found himself unable to move as the Luring Pokémon trapped him in a psychic field that levitated him in the air. The Meditate Pokémon fought back with his own blast of psychic energy that caught Chandelure and floated it up in the air as well.

Helplessly floating in the air, the Luring Pokémon fired multiple blasts of fire and shadowy blobs of energy that struck him repeatedly. The onslaught didn't die down a single bit as Medicham began to start taking dangerous amounts of damage to the point where he might collapse. However, he soon began to fight back by hurling Shadow Balls right back at his opponent. The sudden shock of him fighting back caused the Luring Pokémon to lose its focus, which resulted in the loss of its hold on him.

Medicham landed back on the ground, barely on his own two feet. His body was briefly engulfed in flames from the Burn status condition he suffered from the barrage of attacks.

Egan looked up to see that his Pokémon somehow still had a hold of Chandelure and smiled widely. "Medicham! Use Shadow Ball! Let's go!"

Medicham did as instructed and began firing orbs back to back, striking the immobile opponent multiple times.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the two gave out, thanks to Chandelure's Psychic attack. It revealed a large, gaping void in the ground. Egan reached out to grab support on the nearby ledge, but was doomed to fall with his Medicham deep into the black abyss. "Medicham! Use Psychic!" he called out. But his Pokémon was unresponsive as his lifeless body fell alongside his trainer.

A bright, orange light began to shine from above. Egan looked up to see a large blast of fire headed straight towards him. Using his aura, he released it around him and his comatose partner. As the flames were now centimeters before them, the boy shifted his body so he was above his Pokémon. He met the full brunt of the blast with his raw aura erupting from his fingertips, trying to keep any harm from coming to his friend. "I- I can't let this blast hit Medicham!" he roared as his arms quickly began to show signs of buckling under the pressure.

As they fell, it only seemed that the flames intensified. With no ground in sight, Egan was left on the defensive and with no way out. Hope began to fade from the poor child's body as his aura was slowly being burned alive by the fire, eating closer and closer to his flesh.

"Is this how it ends?" he thought to himself as he looked back at his fainted Medicham. "This can't just be it..." Tears began to flow from his eyes, which were quickly burned up by the fire. But his sadness couldn't be burned up. An awful feeling overcame his body as he tired the best he could to hold off the blast. He felt the compelling urge to look back at his Pokémon and reach his hand out to him. "M- Medicham..." the boy said underneath the struggle of the flames. "I know I can be annoying sometimes... And I know I'm quick to tell you how wrong you are... And I'm sorry for all of it. You're never really wrong. Its usually always me. I just hate to admit it... And now because I made a mistake when we could have gotten the upper hand early in battle, we have to pay our lives for it."

Egan's aura was almost completely faded away as the flames began to lick his skin and consume him. He screamed in agony as his flesh burned underneath the heat.

**. . .**

Tew suddenly shot up to his feet as a tingling feeling deep within his body disturbed him. "Do you guys feel that?" he asked, looking back at his friends.

Damien quickly rose up and looked at him with Reina following suit, the odd feeling overcoming them. "Yeah, I feel it!"

"So do I!" Reina added on. "It feels like..."

"It feels like Egan!" Tew exclaimed. "That's definitely him!" he then took a look around. "But I don't see him anywhere..."

"I think he's using his aura." Damien commented. "This is weird! It feels like he's in trouble or something."

"Fight, Egan!" Tew began to cheer to the empty room. "You can do it!"

"What're you doing?" Damien jumped a bit, surprised by his sudden outburst.

"Maybe if we can feel him, he can feel us." the boy said. "He definitely feels like he's in trouble. So come on! We have to cheer! We have to at least try!"

Both Reina and Damien nodded at each other as the three formed a group cheer and yelled it at the top of their lungs. "Fight it, Egan!"

**. . .**

Egan began to feel his body go up in flames as he blacked out into an empty oblivion.

A strange light began to shine from behind Chandelure. It looked back to the Mega Stone glimmering faintly as it moved on its own, plunging deep into the fiery maw. As it burst through the flames, it split into a smaller piece that was absorbed by the unconscious Gym Leader's body while the bigger piece was absorbed the Meditate Pokémon.

Medicham's eyes suddenly shot up as a feverish feeling rushed to his head. He quickly grabbed his trainer and began shining with a strange light. His body shifted and wavered as he shot within the flames. The fire rose with him out of the hole and dissipated, fading into the air around them.

Egan, now awake, landed safely on the ground away from the hole and inspected himself, surprised he was alive. Faint cheering could be heard on the wind and he smiled. "Thanks, guys." He looked over to see an odd Pokémon next to him. It was noticeably taller than his Medicham and had some of the same features, but there were gold bands hanging from his wrists with four ghostly arms flowing behind him. "Whoa, did you Mega Evolve?"

Chandelure interrupted with a roar of anger and fired another strong blast of fire at the two. Medicham sent his ghostly arms out to block the blast completely. He then shot up into the air and smashed a powerful Shadow Ball into the Luring Pokémon which slammed it into the ground.

Egan stood in awe of his Pokémon's newly-obtained power. "Mega Medicham!" he said, running over to him. The two looked to see the Chandelure struggle to stay afloat. Sensing this battle was near its conclusion, the young trainer bumped fists with his Mega Evolved Medicham and called out the final order. "Medicham, use-"

But right as he was about to call out the order, the scenery changed almost instantly. Instead of leering at their almost fainted opponent, they were now in a small room full of noise that made them cover their ears. "Ah! What is that noise?!"

The yelling ceased and he looked up to see his three friends shouting up at the ceiling in unison.

"Hah, I knew you guys were cheering for me." Egan said as he uncovered his ears.

"Egan!" the three kids yelled as the tackled him with hugs.

"You're alive!" Tew said as he gripped the young boy with his arms.

Reina helped him up to his feet and smiled. "We got a little worried when we felt your aura."

"Well," the young boy nodded, scratching his head. "That's how you guys knew to cheer for me."

"So what happened?" Damien questioned.

"Take a look for yourself!" Egan smiled as he presented his Medicham, but he didn't look any different from that of his base form. The three children looked at him curiously and were confused.

"I don't understand..." Tew said. "Nothing looks different."

Egan inspected his Medicham and soon grew anxious. The four ghostly arms he had were gone and he looked exactly the same as he did before the battle. "I don't understand..." he said. Suddenly, he felt two round objects in his hand, one big and one small. The boy opened his hand and he was delighted to see both stones of the Medichamite in his possession.

"What's that?" Tew asked, peering over his shoulder.

"... Mega Evolution." Egan smiled. "We did it!"


	31. Chapter 31

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 31

Having finally obtained the power of Mega Evolution, Egan returned to his grandmother's dojo, which also functioned as a house, on the edge of Regimen City, bringing along with him some friends.

"Grandma!" the young boy yelled as he excitedly broke through the big, red doors of the large, square-shaped temple. "I'm back!" They stood in the main, open room of the studio as his voice echoed deep into it.

An old woman stepped out from around the corner of a nearby hallway. She was very small, only coming up to about Tew's hipbone. Her eyes were narrow, almost as if they were closed shut. Thousand year-old wrinkles covered her face. A white, traditional hijab was wrapped her head, which was complemented by a long, gray abaya that dragged on the floor behind her. She was dependant on a large cane to guide her, as her bones had grown brittle with age. There was a large smile on her face as her eyes fell upon her grandson standing in the middle of the room. "Oh, Egan!" she said, making her way towards the boy and giving him a soft hug. "You've come back. I'm so happy." The woman then took notice of three children standing behind him near the door and ushered them over to her with open arms. "I see you've made some friends. Who are there?"

"Grandma, this is Damien, Reina, and Tew. Guys, this is my grandma, but you can call her Jeddah." Egan bowed politefully, introducing them. "They're all on a journey, too! We met on Route 3 and decided to travel together for a bit." No longer able to contain his bursting excitement, he took out the Medichamite and practically shoved it in her face. "Grandma, I did it! I got the Mega Stone for my Medicham!"

"It's nice to meet you!" each of the teenagers said.

Jeddah slowly reached up and took the stone into her hand, examining it with her almost-closed eyes. "My, oh my. So you have. This is wonderful, Egan. I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah, I couldn't have done it without the help of my new friends." Egan said as he looked back at them and smiled.

"Why don't you show me how much you've grown on your little journey? I would like to see you in action." Jeddah suggested.

"Oh!" Egan said surprisedly. "Uh, sure. Do you want me to battle you?"

Tew stepped forward and enlarged a Poké Ball in his hand. "How about I take another crack at you? Ria and I want some revenge." he grinned.

"Hah, I'd like to see you try and beat us now that we're even stronger." Egan chuckled.

By the motion of Jeddah, her and the young trainers moved out to the backyard. It was a wide open field of grass, perfect for a battle. The non-participants took a seat on the comfy ground, watching from a safe distance.

Tew took his place on the battlefield and summoned his Pokémon, Ria, in front of him. In perfect symmetry, the two began to throw punches and kicks to get their blood flowing, a normal routine for them.

"My," Jeddah focused her eyes on the boy, rather than her grandson. "That young one and his Riolu are quite good."

Damien looked over at the old woman and raised an eyebrow. "What? How can you tell?"

She breathed out a small cloud of aura and smiled at him. "Just the hunch of an old woman."

"Hey, Jeddah," Reina spoke up. "Egan told us how you were the first person ever to Mega Evolve. Is that true?"

"Yes," she nodded. "It is indeed true. But that is a story for another time. The battle is about to begin."

Everyone watched as streaks of energy shot out from both Egan and Medicham and connected to one another. The Meditate Pokémon began to be surrounded by a strange light as his body shifted in the energy, growing four, wispy arms in the process. A mighty roar from deep within the formation of energy echoed throughout the valley as Mega Medicham now stood before them, the power that once enveloped his body now raining down in small orbs of light around him.

"I've never seen a Mega Medicham before." Tew smiled, admiring the changed aspects of his opponent. "This is so cool. Great job, Egan!"

"Hey, grandma, make sure you watch us!" Egan waved over at her, unintentionally ignoring the trainer. "The new moves I taught Medicham should let us win against Jeddah no problem." he thought to himself.

The older boy pointed down the field and made the first move. "Ria, use Bite!"

"Counter with Psycho Cut!" Egan ordered.

Ria charged down the field and aimed at her opponent, lunging at him with her sharp fangs out. Mega Medicham focused psychic power to his arm and began expanding it outward. The Blue Warrior latched down on the same arm and held on as he tried to shake her loose. She was soon sent flying with the blade of psychic power being sent in the opposite direction and into a mountain far off in the distance, cutting a large chunk of it off.

"Whoa!" Reina said as she drew breath in sharply from shock. "That's a lot of power!"

"I don't think I've ever seen a Mega Evolution that strong before." Damien commented.

The old woman took a Poké Ball out of her pocket and eyed the Mega Evolved Pokémon carefully. "When a Medicham Mega Evolves, its keeps its abilitiy, Pure Power. It doubles its Attack when in battle."

"Hey!" Tew called out to the boy, seeming unphased by the intense display of power Psycho Cut wreaked on the mountain. "What's up over there? It isn't like Medicham to miss like that."

"Don't worry about it." Egan said with a scoff. "Pull it together, Medicham, and use Force Palm!"

As the older boy watched the fighter dash toward them, an ingenious plan formed in his head. "Ria, shoot Mud-Slap into the ground!"

The Blue Warrior slammed her paw into the dirt and released a stream of mud that erupted underneath Mega Medicham. He flew back from the blast and managed to land on his feet with growing frustration. Muck covered his entire body.

"Yeesh," Tew folded his arms and looked at the sorry excuse of a Mega Evolved Pokémon. "Everything alright with you two?"

"We're fine!" Egan yelled. "Medicham, what the hell? Come on, get a hold of your power and concentrate. We can wipe the floor with these guys."

Mega Medicham growled at his failure and rushed his opponent, firing a blade of psychic power at her without an order from his trainer. The blade exploded upon contact and pushed Ria back, bringing her to her knees.

"Ah, Ria!" Tew gasped.

"That's more like it!" Egan smirked confidently. "Don't let them rest! Use Force Palm!"

Ria looked up to see Medicham right above her. She quickly flipped out of the way, causing the attack to miss, but was met with a hard kick to the stomach, which was, once again, without order. The onslaught continued as he jumped on her and fired a Force Palm directly on her chest, blasting her away back into her trainer.

Tew managed to catch his Pokémon, but the force she hit him with knocked him off his feet. As he sat back up, dark red eyes glared at him from Mega Medicham. The Meditate Pokémon began screaming wildly as a Shadow Ball erupted from his hands. Tew narrowly managed to roll out of danger.

"Hey, Medicham, cool it. We're trying to beat Ria, not Tew." Egan called out.

But Mega Medicham could no longer hear his trainer. A sharp ringing in his ears tormented him as he screamed in obvious pain. Through the eyes of the young boy and Jeddah, they could both see the Pokémon's aura turning a vicious storm. It wrapped around Tew like the body of a long, terrifying snake and immobilized him with fear. He clenched his fallen partner in his arms and trembled where he sat.

"Medicham, stop!" Egan yelled.

"What's going on?!" Damien asked as he quickly stood up with Reina following suit.

Mega Medicham's vision became distorted as the world lost its color and he could only see the body heat of Tew and his Riolu, which he now saw as prey. There was a terrible throbbing in his head. Primal instinct began to override his thoughts and he made his move, bounding for the older boy and his Pokémon.

Damien stepped forward to break out in a run to protect Tew, but was stopped by Jeddah's cane holding him back. She quickly released her Pangoro that appeared in front of the older boy and blocked the punch Medicham had prepared for them. With his thick arm, he threw the Mega Evolved Pokémon back and released a dark, pulsating blast from his hand. Medicham was hit hard and fell to the ground, reverting back to his base form. The Medichamite fell from the fainted Pokémon and rolled to Pangoro's feet.

Egan rushed to his fallen Pokémon's side and held his unconscious body in his hands, trying desperately to shake him awake. "Medicham! Medicham! Are you okay?!"

Tew was helped up to his feet by Damien. Along the way up, a small trail of blood trickled down his mouth as a sharp pain shot through his chest where he caught Ria. "I- I'm fine." he stammered, trying to shake off the pain. "We should g- get to a Pokémon Center, though…"

"Please," Jeddah stepped in, calling out her Audino. "Allow me to help."

**. . .**

Later that night, the trainers along with Jeddah sat in the main room on the floor around a small table, enjoying a large, communal plate of sushi that she prepared for them.

A girl emerged from deep within the dojo, bearing similar resemblance to Egan. She was dressed in blue jeans with a white sweater hugging her body tightly, her face covered in expensive-looking makeup. A bracelet with an indentation for a Mega Stone hung loosely off her arm. "I'm off, grandma." the girl said, nearing the door.

"You be careful tonight, Audie." Jeddah warned her with a parental smile.

"Who's that?" Reina asked.

"That's just my dumb older sister." Egan scoffed. "She's got some dumb date with some dumb guy tonight."

"Shut up." Audie groaned as she slammed the door and left.

The group soon went back to eating.

With every swallow, a pulsating pain quickly shot through Tew's ribcage, making eating almost seem unappetizing to him. His shirt was off as Audino had inspected him for wounds earlier and bandaged his chest. Damien rubbed the poor boy's back as he tried to swallow another small piece of sushi. Again, the pain afflicted him and he finally gave up. "I think I'm just gonna go get some sleep." he said as he stood up, refusing help from Damien and limping slowly to one of the spare bedrooms.

Egan could only watch the boy struggle with the pain that he felt responsible for. "I- I'm sorry…" he said in a low voice. Damien glared angrily back at him before sitting back down in the circle.

"Now, now." Jeddah said, looking over at the angry boy. "Young man, you should not be angry at him."

"Hm?" Damien's ears perked up as the anger washed away from his face and he looked over at the woman. "I wasn't angry." he lied.

"Yes, you were. I could tell by your aura." the old woman smiled. "You must really care for Tew."

"Er. Yeah. So what?" the boy shoved his face back into the sushi, trying to avoid eye contact.

"But you need not to be angry at Egan. He's already beating himself up enough over it as it is." Jeddah sighed.

Egan folded his arms and grumbled. "Thought I hid my aura from you years ago, granny."

"And I learned to look past that years ago, _sonny._"

"So what happened out there today?" Reina asked.

The young boy shrugged his shoulders and took a bite of a piece of sushi. "I have no clue." he said with his mouth full. "Something went wrong, obviously. I just don't know what."

"You really have no clue what happened?" Jeddah eyed him from her plate. As she saw her grandson shake his head with genuine confusion, she sat down her plate and wiped her mouth. "It is because you failed to understand the power Mega Evolution can bring your Pokémon. Coupled with you and your Medicham's blatant arrogance, it was only natural that you two would fail."

"I just don't get it." Egan sighed. "Medicham and I are really strong. We should've been able to control it."

"Egan." Jeddah's angrily said. "Have you even been listening?"

"I'm sorry, what?" the young boy shook his head and looked over at her.

Damien growled and stood up to walk away, frustrated by the boy's childish behavior. Reina reached up and pulled him back down to stay.

Jeddah rose and jabbed her grandson in the chest with her cane, scolding him all the while. "Egan! I've raised you better than to be so pretentious and detached from the feelings of others. You should be ashamed of yourself for what happened today. It is unbecoming of a Gym Leader and until you learn that power is _not_ everything, you will not have my blessing to run the gym." She looked over at a somewhat shocked Damien. "Young man, you may have been right to place your feelings of anger on him. He is obviously incapable of grasping the harm that has come not only to his Pokémon and that boy, but is completely oblivious of the detriment he has done to himself as a Pokémon Trainer."

"I…" Egan tried to talk, but it was all he could manage from being frozen with fear. "I'm sorry…"

Jeddah took her leave slowly from the room, turning a cold shoulder to her grandson. "Your apologies will not undo the harm that came to that boy."

Damien's anger faded away as he looked over at the young boy on the verge of tears. "H- Hey, Egan, I'm so-" he reached his hand out to the boy's shoulder, but was shrugged off. Without a word, the young boy retreated into his bedroom on the other end of the dojo, not making a sound for the rest of the night.

"That was rough…" Reina sighed.

Damien sat there and looked over at the door to the room Tew was in, letting out a sigh as well. "You're telling me. I really hope he's OK."

"Well, we've seen him come back from worse before." she commented. "He might be in pain for a little while, but I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Yeah," he soon nodded. "You're right. Maybe everyone's got the right idea going to bed early. We should get some sleep, too."

After checking on Tew, who was fast asleep, but struggled to stay comfortable throughout the night, Damien and Reina retired to the other spare bedrooms and slept the night away. None could predict what the next dawn would bring, but tension was to be expected.

**. . .**

It was quite the walk into town, but after finally making it, Audie sat down at the table of a restaurant and impatiently awaited for her date to arrive among the chatter of the other people there. It nearly drove her crazy as she was never the kind of girl to go to a classy restaurant. The frilly decorations were horrid to her and the waiters had tacky uniforms that made her want to barf. But she decided to make an exception for this boy.

"Ah, sorry I'm late!" her said as he sat down.

She was about ready to rip into him for being thirty minutes late, but after looking into his deep, green eyes that were almost covered by his long, dirty blone hair, there was no way she could stay mad at him. "You're just lucky you're so hot" the girl playfully smirked.

The boy chuckled to himself as he sat back. "That I am, or else I wouldn't have the pleasure of taking you out on this date." He took notice of the girl's bracelet and hit a faint smile behind his cool and aloof look. "Hey…" he said in a deep voice, leaning in across the table. "You wanna blow this joint and go have some fun?"

Audie laughed, swooned by the boy's smoldering demeanor and her initial want to get out of that place and quickly stood up. "Arceus Above, I thought you'd never ask."

"Hm..." he thought for a bit. "What do you say we go to this club I know? They've got good music." he leaned in to her ear and whispered in a seductive tone, "And beer."

She pulled his face close and passionately locked lips with him, nearly removing his arm from its socket as she quickly pulled him out and the two began their night on the town.

"Hey, what'd you say your name was again? Sorry, I'm really bad at them at first. I'm Audie, in case you forgot."

"Oh, my name? It's Tew. Tew Hyland."


	32. Chapter 32

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 32

Tew struggled to wake up early the next morning as he had spent most of the night awake in the first place. While the pain died down, it still ailled him to the point of not wanting to eat breakfast. As the children sat to a wonderful meal cooked by Jeddah, they noticed the absence of a certain, young, spry trainer. The Guru revealed that she sent him off to go train with someone deep into the mountain and to not come back until he had learned to gain control not over just Mega Evolution, but himself as well. They were disheartened at the boy's departure, not even being able to bid him a farewell, but as Jeddah explained to them, they came to see that it was the best option for him.

The next option for our young heroes? While each one of them had their sights set on battling Egan for the coveted Fist Badge, his leaving deterred them from doing so. In light of the lacking presence of the young to-be Gym Leader, Jeddah reminded them that she was still leader of the gym and agreed to battle each of them.

Reina was up first in three-on-three match with the kind, old woman. Both she and the boys found out that her age meant nothing toward the amount of skill she had as the girl was nearly defeated by her first Pokémon. She managed to make a turn around and earn her badge, but it was the most grueling battle she had yet.

Thousands of years to hone one's technique and skills proved to be a very tough challenge for Damien as he was forced to use Mega Evolution to successfully beat her, a tactic he had not used in any battle yet during the circuit. She used different Pokémon against him than with her battle with Reina. Even with the boosted power, the woman was still extremely hard to beat. Much like Reina, the boy luckily turned the tide of battle and won.

Last to face Jeddah that morning was Tew. Having been able to watch the two previous battles, it gave him a slight upper hand as to what to expect from her. By the same token, he had no clue what to expect. It would seem that the woman used different Pokémon against them and he knew he was no exception.

Silence washed over the grassy field like a vicious storm. Not even the ambient noises of the world around them could be detected. Tew was locked in a staring match against the Guru, both on edge with excitement, but trembling ever so slightly with nervousness. An entity over five thousand years old, and just as his friends accomplished before him, he was expected to defeat her.

Jeddah saw the boy's aura in a shade of a verdant green, as still as could possibly be. This surprised her as on the outside, he appeared to be a nervous wreck, but on the inside, he was calmer than a gently flowing river. It gave her an idea of the choice of her first Pokémon she would use against the boy. She took a capsule out of her pocket and released one of many of her companions, a large Hariyama. It disturbed the antagonizing silence with a loud bellow, stomping its large feet on the ground to build power internally.

Tew gripped the capsule in his hands and threw out his choice, the valiant Pierce. He immediately began to deduce a strategy to take down Hariyama with having the least amount of damage dealt toward him. This was called his _Staying Alive_ tactic, as watching earlier battles made him realize there was no way he could predict her next move or her next Pokémon. It was best to make sure he never lost a single one of his friends until the end when victory felt more than secured.

The first move was made by the opponent. The thick-muscled Pokémon thrusted his arm forward, sending a compact blast of air from his hand. It tore down the field, leaving a trail of torn up grass behind it. Pierce took flight high into the sky and successfully avoided the Vacuum Wave. Using his aerial advantage, he released blades of air from his wings that rained down on the sumo-like Pokémon.

Enduring the attack, Hariyama created a stone from pure energy in between his large hands and forced it into the air. The blast struck the Beedrill's wings and he was sent crashing down like a jet plane loosing all control. As he stood right back up, the pain was too great for his wings to spread, completely destroying their aerial advantage.

Pierce was right where Jeddah wanted him to be. It provided the perfect time for her Hariyama to charge down the field and crash into the bee with tremendous force, blasting him back behind his trainer. Thankfully, Pierce managed to spread his wings for a brief second and flutter them in order to stop himself. He released toxic needles from his stingers that bounced off Hariyama's enormous hands as he used them to block. The opponent saw this as perfect cover to close in and jab one of his stingers deep into the Arm Thrust Pokémon's hands, injecting it with a noxious venom that immediately took effect.

The mighty sumo was brought to his knees as the Poisoned status condition vigorously sapped his health. He was left open to a barrage of slicing attacks by his opponent. With each cut, the power behind it seemed to grow until a combination of that and the toxic poison that seeped through his body resulted in his defeat.

Both sides returned their Pokémon, one out of force, and the other, by choice. Each congratulated their partners on a job well done. Damien and Reina, who sat on the sidelines of the match, cheered for their older friend.

The Mega Evolution Guru called out her next choice, a seemingly familiar Pokémon to the challenger with large claws and spikes protruding from the shell on its back; a Chesnaught took the field and much like the previous choice, bellowed a powerful roar with enough force to almost take the young boy off his feet. However, he smiled as he knew the perfect choice to take on the hard-shelled opponent that stood before him. With a reel back and a new capsule in his hand, Tew summoned the second Pokémon he'd chosen for the Gym Battle, his Spiky Nut friend, Chester, the Chespin.

The young hedgehog had experience in taking down much larger foes than it, having been able to stand up to the might of even a Charizard before. But both he and his trainer could see that the final member of his evolutionary family was on a completely different level than anything they'd ever faced before. Chester had the right idea in hunkering down and bracing himself as his opponent unleashed a powerful Aerial Ace. Chesnaught displayed a brutal force of power, but was managed to be held back by the young hedgehog as he was blown back.

Chester jumped into the air and released multiple blasts of hard-packed mud that rained down on the Spiny Armor Pokémon. As his opponent was falling back to the ground, Chesnaught saw him wide open and charged with another Aerial Ace. However, something was off as this time he was much slower than before. This gave Chester the perfect opportunity to fall back to the ground safely and evade the attack. Jeddah took notice of the globs of mud that were stuck to her Pokémon's feet and attributed that to why he moved slow with a smile at the trainer for the challenge he presented.

Now behind him, Chesnaught fired a barrage of seeds at Chester's back that exploded on contact. Chester retaliated by firing a ball of energy, using the dust cloud that was kicked up from the Seed Bomb as perfect cover. The orb slammed into the Spiny Armor Pokémon and lowered his Special Defense in the process. After taking notice that the cloud had not yet dissipated, the hedgehog took advantage of this and continued firing a barrage of Energy Balls from random directions. It rendered Chesnaught's ability to dodge them impossible as he let out a defeated roar before falling to the ground.

Tew's strategy seemed to work as he managed to keep all of his Pokémon from fainting. The high he felt from the success of his tactics soon faded as he laid eyes on the woman's final choice, a large, strong-armed, black and white Pokémon with a bamboo twig hanging from its mouth; it was none other than the legendary Pangoro that Egan spoke of whenever he spun the tale of his many losses to his grandmother.

Pangoro released a dark blast from the palms of his hands that Chester narrowly avoided by rolling. He retaliated with multiple blasts of Energy Balls, which were all easily deflected using Hammer Arm. While the Daunting Pokémon was distracted with protecting himself from the attacks, the hedgehog soared high into the air and fired hard-packed globs of mud down onto him. Pangoro quickly caught on and jumped above him, clasping his fists together and slamming Chester to the ground with a double Hammer Arm. From the air, he released a Dark Pulse attack. With no time to dodge, the hedgehog fired more globs of mud that went around the blast and managed to his opponent before he fell to his awesome might.

The boy was forced to return his Pokémon and call out another, his Beedrill. Pierce had no problem taking high into the skies this time, taking care to fly well out of range of his opponent's jumping abilities. He fired blades of air from his wings that rained down on Pangoro, which put him on the defensive side once again. Using the cover of Air Cutter, Pierce dashed down and appeared in front of his opponent, ready to jab at him with a Poison Sting attack. However, Jeddah had gotten used to their strategy of cover and attack. Pangoro swatted the insect away with his broad arm.

Pierce slowly got up just in time to avoid a dark blast that barreled his way. Back into the air, he spread his wings and prepared to rain down yet another shower of Air Cutter. Pangoro quickly saw through their plan and fired numerous blasts of dark waves. The Sting Bee Pokémon began to swoop down, eluding each blast that came his way. Once he was close enough, he quickly wrapped around behind the large panda and fired a barrage of Air Cutter to his opponent's back. Not predicting this, Pangoro roared as blades of air slammed against him. Pierce then flew around to the front of the Pokémon and raised his stinger up, ready to deliver a hard punch in the form of Payback from having endured the earlier Hammer Arm. Pangoro saw this and, while enduring the Air Cutter, met the bee's punch with a Dark Pulse to his face, blasting him away. Pierce fell to his trainer's feet, defeated.

Tew began to find himself backed into a corner as he returned his Pokémon. With his third Gym Badge hanging in the balance, along with the cheers of his best friends screaming at the top of their lungs, he remained calm. The score was even. Taking his last Poké Ball in his hand, he reeled back and gave it a big toss. The little Blue Warrior broke free in a flash of light, taking her place on the field and doing her usual warm up of kicks and punches in harmony with her trainer. Jeddah smiled as she had asked the boy to use her in his Gym Battle. For whatever reason this was for, was unknown. But it warmed her heart to see the boy and his Pokémon in such synchronicity.

Ria began the final round by rushing toward her opponent with Brick Break. Pangoro met her in the middle of the field with his Hammer Arm. The two attacks collided and released a shock wave of power that blew them both back, managing to still remain on their feet. The Blue Warrior charged at her adversary once again and stopped mid-way, slamming her fist into the soil. A stream of mud erupted from underneath Pangoro's feet and blasted him, engulfing him in a column of the brown liquid as it shot into the air. The panda fired a purple orb of energy out of the mud that caught Ria by surprise, exploding against her. He followed up with a devastating blow to her chest as he charged out of the mud and slammed his arm into her. She flew back off her feet and was hurled into the ground.

The Blue Warrior stood back up, refusing to back down. Focusing all of her power to the tips of her paws, she released a powerful blast of energy that tore down the field and smashed into Pangoro. He emerged from the attack and taunted her with the motion to come at him. Ria was drawn in and subjected to a Dark Pulse attack at point blank range. The blast swallowed her whole and exploded, flinging her body back to her trainer's feet. Ria slowly rose to her feet, barely able to stand up. She summoned a power deep within her and roared valiantly at her battle-damaged opponent so powerfully that it impressed both him and his trainer.

Both trainers knew it was time to end things. Their Pokémon crashed Focus Blast and Gunk Shot in the middle of the field. They slid back, but Ria quickly jumped into the air and slammed a double Brick Break on Pangoro's head. She then fell low and swept him off his feet, unleashing a powerful Focus Blast at his body as he fell to the ground. The Blue Warrior shot out of the dust cloud and landed with her back to the opponent. Pangoro's eyes glared deep within the aftermath and she turned around, locked in a ten second-long staring contest with him before he fell to her might, defeated.

Tew immediately ran out onto the field and picked his little warrior up, hugging her tightly and kissing her on the head for their victory. Damien and Reina rushed to his side and congratulatory hugged him. Jeddah and Pangoro soon approached the boy, handing him a small badge in the shape of the front of a fist. He graciously accepted it and held it in the air, watching as it glistened in the afternoon sun.

A voice called out to them. They turned to see an officer walking towards them. He tipped his hat and asked the Guru if her name was Jeddah, to which she nodded yes. The next words that came out of his mouth were disturbing and downright horrifying. It was something that no grandmother or parental figure never wanted to hear. She pressed and pryed the man to know what happened.

"Ms. Jeddah, there's been an accident with your granddaughter. She was found on the floor of a club last night. Ms. Jeddah… We have reason to believe that Audie was raped and viciously beaten. You need to come with me, immediately."


	33. Chapter 33

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain

Chapter 33

The cold oblivion Audie woke up to was a hazy mess, barely being able to make out various shapes of things in her hospital room. Her arm felt burning hot, as if the flesh was peeling off her skin. A terrible hangover dried her throat like a cactus in the heat of a desert. Its prickly needles dug into the walls, stabbing her voice weak. There was a pungent taste of a copper-like substance in her mouth that made her gag.

A shadowy, almost womanly figure stood over her. "Can you hear me?" she asked in a soft voice. Her body was so dark and mysterious that it appeared to be completely blackened out by opaque darkness.

Audie felt her vision slowly returning as she identified the figure as a woman, compliant to what she thought earlier. Her voice, however, was still in the process of recovering. "Y- yes," she stammered in a dry, scratchy tone that irritated her esophagus. "Who are you?" she barely managed to ask.

The woman knelt down on the side of the bed with a pencil and a small notepad in her hands. "Audie, I'm Detective Anderson," she said gently. "Can you tell me your name? Anything about your family?"

The young, now battered girl nodded as she spoke her first name. "Audie." she stated. "I have a brother named Egan and a grandmother that I call Jeddah. They live on the outside of Regimen City."

"That's good, thank you." Detective Anderson smiled as she radioed to what was assumed to be fellow officers to track down her immediate family. "Do you remember anything about what happened last night?"

Details of the previous night took irregular, incomplete forms in her head as she struggled to piece them together while dealing with the pain she was in. "I- I went on a date with this boy last night. He was a little taller than me… wavy, dark blonde hair that was down to his shoulderblades. And green eyes. Really green eyes. We met at this place… a restaurant, I think. Then we left to some club and…" her mouth was quickly wired shut by a combination of embarrassment and fright, to which the officer reassured her that whatever happened, she would not suffer any consequences for as she was the victim. It struck the girl as odd to think of herself as a victim, but she, by coercion of the Detective, continued. "We had… a lot to drink. And took some pills."

The story suddenly stopped as her hand ran down her ravaged body, causing her to weep at a shocking conclusion she arrived at once she felt the area of her lower pelvis. Cuts and scrapes invited her fingers inside, sending signals of sharp pain and screams all throughout her body.

"Was I raped?" Audie asked through her grief and tears.

The Detective was forced to nod a painful yes to her question. "Do you remember the boy's name? Maybe his age?"

She shook her head as her body rocked back and forth with anguish and misery. "I don't remember his name, but I think he was around eighteen."

"Do you think you could I.D. him?"

Audie's hands ran down her face. The tears halted in their tracks and her body ceased all movement. Her lip quivered with anger as she said "Hell yes." At that moment, it all came back to her as her grandmother, along with two other children she didn't know and her rapist entered the room. She screamed bloody murder and pointed accusingly at the young boy in company of her grandmother.

As the Detective moved forward and turned him around, he played the usual dumb look card. She pressed his chest against the wall, which made him scream in agony as handcuffs clicked on his wrist and his rights were read to him while providing an escort out of the building. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, the court will provide one for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"

But he didn't respond as they blew through the front doors of the hospital and into a mob of angry civilians chanting all kinds of derogatory names at him. Bright lights from the flashes of cameras blinded him as he tripped down the stairs and slammed his face into the concrete. The enraged townspeople threw all sorts of items at him as he was shoved into the cop car. By the time he sat down, he was covered in debris. From assorted drinks splashed into his face to slops of trash covering his clothes. As the feelings of confusion and fear began to overwhelm him, the world as our hero saw it faded to black.

**. . .**

A douse of ice cold water awoken Tew from the dark abyss he was in many hours later. He found himself handcuffed to a metal table which was bolted to the floor of the cold, dark, concrete room he sat in. Across from him was a male detective eyeing him with the intent to kill if he weren't confined by the law.

"Well, well," the Detective said as he sat the now empty cup down in front of him. "Wakey wakey, rapist."

The word hit Tew's ear awkwardly as he failed to comprehend what the officer had just called him. "Wait, what?"

"Oh, don't play dumb." the man, growing angry and clenching his fists on the table. "I know just as well as you do what you were doing last night?"

"Um… sleeping?" the boy said almost as if he were asking a question.

The Detective slammed his hands on the table as he shot up from his chair and went to the mirror, scratching his head furiously in what looked to be frustration. He turned around to the boy and lunged at him, pointing his large finger in his face. "Look, don't you play stupid with me kid. Its scum like you that make me want to lose your badge?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Tew yelled back.

"You drugged, raped, and beat Audie!" he screamed at him, flinging particles of spit on the boy's face. "Oh, I'm sorry…" he suddenly said in a soft tone, wiping the saliva from his cheeks with his checkered tie. "I didn't mean to spit in your face. I can get a little angry sometimes."

Tew pulled his neck back, retracting his face from the scary man. But a broad hand grabbed him by his cheeks, squeezing with so much force that veins riddled both it and the man's forehead as his face turned red with anger.

"When rapists play dumb with me, I can get a little agitated." he said, nearly throwing the boy out of his chair. "So you'll have to excuse me if I'M A LITTLE RUDE TO YOU LIKE YOU WERE TO THAT GIRL."

The young boy managed to free his face from the constraints of the large fingers and pulled as far back in his chair as he possibly could. "I didn't do anything to her! I barely even know Audie! I only met her last night!"

"That's right!" the Detective screamed. "You met her last night in that restaurant, told her you wanted to go somewhere else and have a little fun, didn't you?!"

"What?! No! First of all, I met her at her house. And second of all, I'm g-"

"Guilty!" the man finished his sentence for him. "We have DNA evidence that can pin you exactly with Audie! Skin cells, bodily fluids, everything! You left fingerprints _all over_ the crime scene! Even finished off inside of her. You disgust me."

Only one thing was running through the accused boy's mind once the detective mentioned fingerprints. There was only one possible thing that could free him from all this. Just one, possible thing that he knew separated him from the person that did all of this. It was something he'd clung to since his journey began in an effort to remind himself that he was different from his adversary. "Did you check my fingerprints?"

"We don't have to!" the Detective yelled. "We've got you on everything! _Everything_! You're going down, kid. What you did to that poor girl, they're gonna bury you _underneath _the jail."

"But did you check my fingerprints?" he asked persistently.

"Didn't you hear me, you little snot-nosed pu-"

"Actually," Detective Anderson said as she entered the interrogation room, slapping a manilla folder in front of her male partner in crime. "His fingerprints don't match any of the ones on the crime scene."

"Oh?" the man raised an eyebrow, turning back to the boy. "So you invited another one your disgusting friends to help out? Maybe hold her down?"

"Looker," the woman said, cutting him off placing a hand on his shoulder. "His alibi actually checks out with both the grandmother and the other two kids. Also, I got a call from Mallory down in forensics. She thought she had a good match to this kid, but after they ran the results again, they found out there's _very_ subtle differences in the DNA from the crime scene to his. They're calling it Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms. To make it worse, the victim even recanted her statement, saying he looked a little different than our real rapist."

"What the hell is that, Detective Jenny? Looker asked with an annoyed groan.

Anderson sighed as she unlocked the boy's cuffs. "It means he's not our rapist. He just looks like him."

"Told you I didn't do it." Tew grumbled under his breath. "I'm gay anyway."

"Come on," the woman smiled as she helped the boy up. "I'll escort you out. We're sorry for the trouble we caused you."

As the two walked through the precinct, he could feel the accusing eyes glaring deep into his soul from other officers. The room even fell to a controlled whisper as the adults didn't even take care to hide what they said about the boy. Things like "That kid knows he did it," "What a scumbag," "Fag probably wanted to see what women were like," and the popular favorite "I'm gonna make sure he rots in jail one day," dashed the feeling of hope he felt upon his release.

What's more is that as he was sent back off into the open world, a crowd of civilians was waiting for him outside of the station like a pack of predators waiting to feed on their prey. Jeddah, Reina, and Damien thankfully appeared in the nick of time to guide him through the mob, but the words hurt worse than any kind of projectile they could have thrown at them. No more was he Tew, the aspiring Pokémon Trainer and Guildmaster of The Weedles Guild. All he was now, was nothing but an accused rapist the mass hysteria of a town believed to be guilty. Back at home, his guild colleagues were shamed and a petition was held by the people of that town to have him removed and the entire organization shut down. As faithful as his followers were, they declined to appear at any formal hearing, which left the guild's operation status as unknown.

**. . .**

"Tew, are you sure you want to leave?" Reina asked as she boarded the train at the station along with Damien.

The boy took a look behind him to see the shifty glares people stole of him before they were noticed. It seemed that news in the small city spread quickly, and he would have no part of it. "Yeah," he sullenly said with his shoulders slumped down, defeated. "This town doesn't see me as anything else but a rapist. I just want to go."

"Well, where are we going?" Damien said as he stuck his head out of the door and looked at the boy on the platform. "This train has like, four separate stops."

Tew walked over to a large billboard and read the train's schedule. "I want to go home." he said quietly. "I wanna quit."

An expected look of shock and heartbreak fell over Damien and Reina's faces. They had prepared to say something to him, but an announcement stating that the train would soon depart instead made them usher their friend over to the door.

"Tew!" a familiar voice called out from down the platform.

"Jeddah?" the boy stopped inches away from the doors of the train and looked to see the old woman slowly shuffling to him. Just as he turned his attention from the steam engine, the doors automatically slid shut. His heart began to race as he banged wildly on them, yelling for it to open back up. Damien and Reina did the same and their screams only began to grow more out of control as the engine started moving. He chased the train out of the station and made a valiant leap onto the cargo car, reaching his hand out to a passenger who was standing on the back of it.

He took one look at the boy and scowled "I don't help little boys that rape," and refused his hand, allowing him to smack onto the concrete.

Tew could only watch in horror as the train sped out of sight and left him behind. Many of the townspeople chuckled and spat profanities at him, saying it was exactly what he deserved as he curled up on the warm, afternoon ground and wept to himself.

"Alright, now that's enough." a respected figure of the town, Jeddah said as she dispersed the crowd and helped the boy up, dusting the dirt off his clothes. "Now, are you alright? I'm so terribly sorry I made you miss your train. But I just had to come talk to you."

**. . .**

Tew raised an eyebrow at the woman in an open field away from the commotion of people that might see them. "Excuse me?"

"Was I not clear?" Jeddah asked as she leaned on her large cane.

The boy gripped his head in his hands and screamed internally as tears began to immediately run down his face. "So first I get accused of rape, _your _granddaughter of all people, and you're offering to train my Riolu?"

Jeddah nodded in confirmation.

Tew couldn't help but let out a forced chuckle at the horrible day he had, as it felt like he was just losing more and more. "Look, I don't mean any disrespect to you, but I think I've lost enough things today. My reputation is shot, my best friends are probably halfway down the mountain now, and I don't even know if I want to be here on this planet anymore, let alone this challenge. Besides, do I need to remind you that people think I _raped_ your granddaughter? I'm sure you do, too. So why are you even offering to help me in any way? Huh?"

The woman let out a small sigh as she looked up into the boy's deep, green eyes. "Because I know that deep down, a hero like you is not capable of such acts. I cannot explain how I know, but I do."

"Yeah, like I'm a hero anymore." he scoffed to himself.

"Now you stop that talk this instant." Jeddah ordered. "You are acting very selfishly today. This is very unlikely of you."

"Oh!" the boy fake smiled. "Well excuuuuuuse me if I seem to act a little selfish after being accused of a crime I did _not_ commit, which has not only ruined me, but ruined my entire guild as well. So yeah, Jeddah," he nodded with tears pouring down his face. "I'm _SO_ sorry that I'm only thinking about myself right now."

The Mega Evolution Sage could only look at him with a disheartened face as his aura flared into a chaotic state. But the look that she gave him brought him back down to the ground from his frenetic high.

"Why me?" he asked, pointing at himself. "Why her? Why now?"

"Because," Jeddah smiled, placing a finger on the boy's pained chest. "We both know that she could use it. Her form is a little wild and unflattering and it is holding her back from growing stronger."

"I remember…" Tew said as he retreated into his memories.

_Egan shrugged his shoulders. "Don't look at me. I know less about that species than you do. My specialty is Fighting-type Pokémon. You know, speaking of Fighting-types... Your Riolu."_

_"What about her?" Tew sat up and looked over at him._

_"Well," Egan sighed. "Its just her form and technique are a little... barbaric."_

_"Barbaric?" Tew asked._

_Egan nodded his head and turned their attention over to Ria having a friendly sparring match with Anbu and Damien. "Watch."_

_Both Damien and Ria charged at Anbu, but were repelled by an outward expansion of the aura from deep within his body. Ria quickly recovered to her feet and lunged at the Aura Pokémon with sharp fangs. He held his paw up and released a Dragon Pulse weak enough only to blow her back. Damien managed to connect a jab to his Pokémon's side._

_"See what I mean?" Egan pointed out. "It isn't often that you see a Riolu or Lucario that knows Bite."_

_Tew wiped the pouring sweat from his forehead and turned back to the Gym Leader-in-training. "So what does that mean?"_

_Egan sat back and stared up at the dark, night sky that was dotted with stars and closed his eyes. A small smile crept across his face as he thought back to his earlier life. "Well, back when Medicham was a Meditite, we had the same fighting style. We never really cared about form or technique. But then we had our first battle with my grandma and we lost really quick without even being able to land a single blow."_

Tew folded his arms and eyed the woman skeptically. "So… you really think she'll excel with you?"

"I _know_ she will." Jeddah smiled with a twinkle of ancient confidence in her eye. "I'll send her off to come find you when I feel she's completed her training."

"But how will she know where to find me?"

"If the kinship is true, a friend will never let a friend get lost. One will always find their path back to the other."

With a heavy heart, Tew took out Ria's Poké Ball and summoned her to the open fields to join them. He knelt down to his little blue warrior with tears in his eyes. "Hey, Ria?" the boy said, placing his hands on her shoulders and managing to crack a smile through his grief. "I'm gonna leave you with Jeddah so you can train with her for a while, yeah?"

Ria immediately shook her head, not complying with her trainer's orders and wrapping her arms tight around his body, nuzzling her small head in his battered chest.

The boy hugged her back and looked through his tears up at the old woman who gave him a certain glare. He knew exactly what it meant. The more he delayed in letting her go, the harder it would get. "Ria," Tew said as he struggled to push her off of him. "Listen to me. This is what's best for you, alright? You're gonna grow so much stronger and learn a ton of things with Jeddah. Once you do, you can come back to me. I'll keep a spot on my team _just_ for you, yeah?"

Ria wiped away her tears and eventually calmed down, slowly taking her trainer's words to heart and realizing that it was really the best course of action for her to take. They shared a hug one last time with a kiss from the boy to her head as he stood up and handed over his Poké Ball to her.

"Please, be good to her." Tew requested.

"I wouldn't dream of being anything but." Jeddah smiled. She took a look off into the distance of the deep, orange sunset. "The train won't be coming back for about a week. Your best bet is to walk down the mountain on foot. It might take you a few days."

"That's fine." Tew said as he took off his backpack and began digging through it, taking out a thin, black belt. He knelt down to Ria and presented it to her. "Hey, this is an Expert Belt. I found it on my travels before I came to the Circuit and I meant to give it to you a long time ago. But I guess now is as good as ever, huh?" he giggled, wrapping the belt around her waist and shaking hands with her. "Its been good training you, Ria. I'll see you down the road."

With that, our young, pariah of a hero took off down the mountain with his head hung low to hide his tears as Ria and Jeddah waved him off, knowing that if he would look back, the self-centered urge would overpower him and he would change his mind.

**. . .**

Later that evening, as Tew wistfully walked down the mountain road to begin his climb down, he was met with an unexpected and four tooth-shattering punch to his jaw. The power flung him to the ground, making him hold his face in agony as he screamed. A kick was delivered to his stomach as he managed to look up. A glob of disgusting, mucus-filled spit smacked against his face and rolled down his cheek and into his open, screaming mouth. The sunlight blinded him to the shadowy figure that was now walking away, but the voice was all too familiar.

"If you ever come near my sister or grandma again, I swear to Arceus that little accident I had with Mega Medicham blasting your Pokémon into your chest _won't be an accident next time_."


	34. Chapter 34

The Champion Circuit

Climbing the Mountain Finale

Chapter 34

An ancient man of short stature, but incredible knowledge, slowly walked through the fields of Route 4 underneath a sun even older than him. His frail body was dependant on the help of a large cane that guided him on his path home as his arms struggled to carry a hand-woven basket of berries and other assorted fruits he picked from the trees the world offered him. This was the man's burden once a week, as he was cursed with what felt like an eternal loneliness. The basket dragged behind him like a large weight on his shoulders, working ancient muscles that had long ago lost their strength.

The winds fiercely blew through his old, verdant, silk robes, bringing a flock of ruffian bird Pokémon. Each one landed on tree branches around the old man, surrounding him. They cawed angrily at him for entering their territory. As what he assumed to be the leader of the group touched down on the ground in front of him, bearing a sharp beak filled with intentions to be rid of him, an electrical shock wracked the large bird.

The surprise knocked the man off his feet. It was nothing short of a miracle, he thought. To look up and see a kind savior armed with Poké Ball in hand and the skill of a trainer shining in his green eyes warmed the man's heart.

"Chilla, use Shock Wave!" the unknown hero called out.

By the boy's orders, the little chinchilla released multiple bolts of electricity that attacked every bird within the area, sending them flying off into the sky from its might.

The boy then helped the man to his feet as his Pokémon carefully cleaned the dirt off of both his clothes and food. Without a word, he suddenly began to take leave, turning his back and walking off into the sunset. "Wait!" the man called out in his ancient voice. He stopped and turned his head back to the old man, careful not to show his face by the brightness of the sun blocking it out. "Please, you must let me thank you for saving me."

"I'd much rather I press on. Your safety is thanks enough." the young man said as he continued walking, but was stopped once again by the old man calling out to him.

"You seem tired." the man said. "And hungry. If you could be so kind as to escort me back to my house, I would not mind sharing food with you."

Upon turning around to depart, his stomach betrayed him as the sound of his hunger echoed in the world around him. The man then persistently insisted that the boy come along with him, to which he reluctantly agreed to.

**. . .**

After some time walking, night faded the sky's bright orange and stained it with the dark, starry sky that now floated above them. The two had reached a pathetically small shack that looked as if it could barely hold itself up. One strong storm could collapse the old, wooden settlement tied together with some sort of thread. Inside, there was only one room, but shelves of ancient, nearly ruined books lined the walls. It felt like a condensed library.

The boy took a look around and folded his arms in an unimpressed manner as they entered. "This is where you live?"

"Yes." the man said as he sat down on a small, filthy cot in the back corner of the room, underneath a shelf that looked as if it could barely hold the stack of books that sat upon it.

With every step the boy took, the floorboards creaked with age and wear. He eventually made it over to the old man and sat down in front of him. "Y- Your place is-"

"Filthy?" he cut in, taking the boy's words right out of his mouth. "Yes, I know. I would clean it, but my body isn't the spright, energy vessel it was when I was your age."

The boy watched as the man took out a slice of bread from his satchel that sat next to the cot and began to crush berries with his small, withered hand in a wooden bowl. His hand looked to be too weak to even break one of them in half, let alone hold the bowl up while he did it. "Please," he interjected, calmly taking the dish out of the man's hand. "Let me."

"Oh, thank you." the man smiled. The boy could tell once he relieved him of the bowl, a burden had been lifted from him. "Simple tasks such as even that have become hard for me to do. I greatly appreciate your help. What is your name, young one?"

"My name…?" the young man stammered, looking away and avoiding all eye contact. "I- I'm sorry. I don't think you would want to know."

"You think that I would not want to know the name of the young man that took time out of his busy schedule to save an old soul like me? Please, won't you tell me your name?" the old man nearly began to beg.

"It's Tew. Tew Hylandius." he said with a disappointed sigh, not being able to bring himself to lie to the kind stranger.

The man smiled and rested his cane on his lap. "Ah, your name means 'warrior god'. I assume your full name is Tewson?"

"Yes," the boy nodded. "Tewson Hylandius."

"Well, Tewson Hylandius, did you know that you are the first visitor this old man has had for ten thousand years?"

Tew nearly spilled the contents of the smashed berries out of the bowl in utter shock. "What?! How's it even possible that you've been alive for so long?"

"Ah," the man grinned as he sat back and melted into his memories, recalling a better time for him. "I was once a Sage of Mega Evolution. 'Sage Mouton' is what I was called. But now I am nothing more than a washed up shell of my former version, cursed to live an eternity of loneliness."

The young hero could feel his heart shatter as he watched the man's face light up with glee as he reflected on his earlier life, but wash away faster than a tsunami striking down upon that land of glee, leaving nothing but sadness and despair in its wake. "Don't you have any friends? Or family? Or even Pokémon?"

"There was a time where I had all of those, yes." he nodded painfully. "But the choices I made to protect them cost the connections and ties I had with them to be severed. But they are safe. And I am glad."

A bout of sadness for the old man spurred an idea in the boy's head. "Sage, you said you were growing too old to do things, right? Can I help you out? I could run errands for you, or even fix up the place."

"Oh," the retired guru shook his head with a flattered chuckle. "Please, I couldn't take you away from your travels for an old man like myself. It would be callous of me to do so."

Tew quickly stood up and began stretching his arms. "No offense, sir, but I think my journey is going to reach it's end soon. If I can at least help someone out before it's over, maybe it can at least dissolve in peace."

"You talk as if you expect to shut yourself away from the world." Mouton commented, bringing himself up with his cane. The boy rushed over to his aide. "What have you seen to make you feel this way?"

"It's a story I'm surprised you haven't been able to piece together yet. My face is plastered all over the news." he said with a somewhat forced chuckle of sorrow.

"Ah, I do not concern myself with the trivial occurrences of this world. Whatever wrong you have wrought, if you truly are the kind man standing before me today, I am sure you will right it."

"That's just it!" Tew exclaimed with tears breaking through his voice. "_I_ didn't do _anything_ wrong! Someone is trying to frame me for a horrible crime I didn't commit!"

"Please," the sage said, holding his arms open and allowing the boy to drop to his knees into the warm, welcoming hug. "If what you say is true, then you must have the courage to think and act on your own, unhinged from what the world sees you as, as you are the only one who truly needs to see yourself. You must have the bravery to continue on, to disobey the world's views, and to be different. Obtain the strength to think on your own and not what others make you out to be. Let the world think of you what it may, for you are the one who decides who you are. And there is no one who can tell you any different. Not even those similar to you."

**. . .**

As the sun rose to another day on the mountain, Tew crawled out of his sleeping bag and into the bright, new morning that shined down on him. Wanting companionship as the old man was still asleep inside of the small shack, he summoned his Pokémon to his side; Chester, his reliable Chespin, Chilla, the neat-freak Minccino, Pierce, the in-training powerhouse of a Beedrill, and Shido, the Silent Samurai Dewott, all appeared before him. The boy gathered them close in a huddle and began going over the plan.

**. . .**

Hours later into the morning, the Sage was startled awake by the sound of an object slamming against the floor, following by the commotion and footsteps of hushed voices trying to clean it up. But it was too late, for he had already caught sight of the young boy he so graciously invited into his home, breaking a shelf with two of his rough-necked Pokémon. "What in the world is going on in here?" His rising anger suddenly dispersed as light shined into the room, blinding him. It was the first time the dainty little shack had received any form of dazzle in thousands of years.

The bright sun lit up the small shack to see repaired shelves, reinforced with new wood and powerful thread that could have only been spun by a Bug-type Pokémon. Books lined each and every one of them, now alphabetized, save the one that Tew had just broken. All of the dust and dirt that covered the single room, staining it a dirty brown, was cleared away. To his surprise, he remembered he used white oak wood to build the hut, which still somehow managed to glimmer with its beauty as it did all of those years ago. Over in the other corner of the room was a counter, much like one would see in a kitchen. It was complete with a sink who gained its water source from a nearby lake of clean water. Next to the counter was a refrigerator that had a small generator plugged into the back of it. Thanks to a certain chinchilla, he supplied enough electricity to last the man another thousand years or so. Numerous other plugs led from the generator to a small light bulb that hung from the ceiling with a switch right by the new, hand-built bed in front of him as he laid on his dirty cot while feasting his eyes on what now felt like a mansion. A happiness as great as the one that began to overflow his body was something he had never felt in the thousands of years he'd been alive. Not since the day he married his beautiful wife.

"Ah, we're sorry! We didn't mean to break your bookshelf." the boy apologized repeatedly as he and his Chespin and Minccino scrambled to pick up the books and pieces of broken wood.

"What is this?" the man asked in a euphoric state of bliss, quickly shuffling over to all of his new things. "Young man," he stopped and turned to Tew. "Did you do all of this?"

"Well, no. I had a lot of help from my Pokémon." Tew embarrassingly laughed. "I had my Chespin and Minccino here to help me clean while my Beedrill flew back and forth to the market since showing my face there isn't really in my best interest, and my Dewott is still laying the pipes and stuff in the ground with Dig."

Sage Mouton was at a complete loss for words as he watched the young boy and his Pokémon quickly get back to work and repair the shelf. It was like watching a master craftsman at work. "How did you do all of this? Its so… good..."

Tew picked up another piece of broken wood and heaved it off out of the sage's new window over the kitchen sink. "Well, back when I first started my journey, I made a guild. Called it The Weedles. But since I was the only member at the time, aside from my Chespin, the Guild Federation stuck me with this old, little dumpy house. Not much bigger than yours. I made a ton of friends and they helped me fix it up. So really, I kinda owe all of what I know about fixing up stuff to them. And my Minccino," he smiled as the chinchilla jumped on his shoulder and lovingly rubbed his face against his. "Because this little guy is a neat freak, I learned a lot more about cleaning from him."

Tears of joy overflowed the man's face and began pouring out like water from a fireman's hose as he hugged the boy, thanking him repeatedly for his abundant amount of kindness. He was soon led outside by the boy and turned around to look at what he could now call a house.

The man's happiness only grew as he laid eyes on the beautiful house before him, clean and pristine with fresh wood plugging up the holes that once chilled him in cold nights. He thought that life couldn't get any better than this as he felt himself take off into the air with jubilation, almost not being able to breathe from the joy.

But it soon wasn't anything of the sort. As the sage quickly came down from his euphoric happiness, he realized that a large tentacle from deep within the trees grabbed him and was now pulling him away from the boy. His new friend screamed out his name as he tried to reach a hand out to him, but failed as he became engrossed within the woods that surrounded his new house.

Tew quickly returned his two Pokémon and left a note for Beedrill and Dewott when they returned. He then grabbed his backpack and quickly tore into the thick woods, calling out the man's name and taking care not to smack into trees along the way. Looking down, there were no footprints to aide the boy in his effort, leaving only the direction he saw the sage disappear in.

Chilla broke free from his Poké Ball out of a habitual habit to clean as he swept his tail on the ground, cleaning away bread crumbs. Almost about to return him for his inappropriate urge, he noticed there was a trail of small bread crumbs leading through the forest.

The two began to follow the trail, Minccino cleaning up along the way. Sage Mouton's cries for help soon became audible as they stumbled upon the kidnapper, a very large and wild Tangrowth that had him tied up in the many vines that shrouded its mysterious body.

"Hey!" Tew called out to it. "Let him go now, or else!"

Tangrowth turned around and unleashed a violent whip of one of its vines, smacking the ground in front of them as they jumped back. It gave them a fierce roar as it stood to oppose the two, gripping the sage in its arms.

The boy could feel the power of their foe and knew it would be a heated battle. He knelt down, took a cream-colored scarf from his bag tied it around his Pokémon. "There, its a Silk Scarf. It should help out your Normal-type moves. Now, use Tail Slap!"

Chilla rushed his opponent and smacked it hard in the face up to three times with his tail. Tangrowth was pushed back from the force, but summoned vines from deep underground to jab the little chinchilla, grabbing him and tossing him to the ground. But he valiantly got back up and by order of his trainer, began to create illusionary copies of himself.

Tangrowth, confused by the army of Minccino, stabbed vines through each one of them, only to be met with a hard Tail Slap to the top of its head from his opponent that took shelter in a tree. The sudden surprise attack caused it to drop the sage. He quickly scurried over to the boy, which enraged the Vine Pokémon. It stretched its long arm out to the little chinchilla and bound him with Constrict. Vines from its body shot out and began smacking him repeatedly with Vine Whip before slamming into the dirt.

"Chilla!" the young boy cried out.

Chilla slowly stood up, spitting the dirt from its mouth. His strength of will and determination overtook him as he released wicked bolts of electricity from his body out of perseverance, refusing to back down from such a dirty Pokémon like Tangrowth.

The Vine Pokémon suddenly calmed down after seeing the display of the chinchilla's power. Thinking it was a trick, the boy ordered for a Shock Wave, but was stopped by the sage. They looked at the wild Pokémon and saw that for some reason, it now meant no harm to them. Tangrowth ushered for the two to follow it, so they did, but kept their guard up for any tricks that it might try to pull.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived behind a bush and immediately took cover. The Tangrowth pointed over it to a flock of Spearow, much like Tew and Sage Mouton encountered yesterday, circling around two young, probably baby, Tangela.

"What's going on?" Tew asked.

The Sage assessed the situation. "It looks as if those Spearow kidnapped the two Tangela." He turned to look back at Tangrowth. "Is this why you kidnapped me?"

The wild Tangrowth nodded in confirmation.

"I suppose it somehow knew by kidnapping me, that you would follow it." The Sage concluded. "But that doesn't matter now. We have to free those Tangela."

"Chilla, can you use Shock Wave over the bush and hit those Spearow?"

Chilla did as instructed and released powerful bolts of electricity that spread and shocked every single one of the ruffian birds, causing them to flee in a defeated, unorganized manner. Tangrowth stretched his arm out and retrieved its children, hugging them close and happy to be reunited with them.

The reunion was short lived as the same Fearow from yesterday touched down on the ground in front of them, spreading its wings and blowing away their cover of the bush with a few mighty flaps. It threatened them with its elongated beak and tried to jab at one of them. Thinking on his feet, Tew grabbed his Minccino and threw him at the bird. The chinchilla managed to hook onto the bird's beak with his tail, simultaneously clamping it shut and allowing him to hang from it with ease. Fearow's eyes widened as the chinchilla smiled a mischievous smile he hadn't shown since the first battle with Chespin, and shocked the bird vigorously with Shock Wave after Shock Wave. Fearow finally managed to fling him off and fly away in defeat. The bird Pokémon's best weapon also turned out to be its biggest downfall.

**. . .**

After the successful reuniting of Tangrowth and its children, Tew and the Sage had returned to the small house and continued work on it until the final product was complete later that evening. It was still a fairly small house, but now had heating, a nice rug, a couch carved from the trunk of tree, and many other supplies thanks to the boy and his Pokémon's tireless work.

Sage Mouton was overjoyed at the boy's generosity and enjoyed his new house, relaxing on his new, comfy bed. There was enough food to last him for a while and there always would be, thanks to Tew sending a note with his Beedrill up to the market and telling them about him. Now, once a week, a Xatu would come by with a crate of food for the old man, ensuring that food would never be a problem again. He was so thankful for all the boy done for him that the least he could do was treat him to a meal, but unfortunately, Tew had to get going.

"Well, it was really nice meeting you, Sage Mouton. And thank you for your kind words and hospitality. I'm glad I could help you out." Tew said as he stood on the man's doorstep with Chester on his shoulder, shaking his old, frail hand.

"No, no, no," Sage Mouton repeated, shaking his head. "I need to thank _you_. Why, had you not been passing through, I could have been ravaged by those rough Pokémon. And I never would have had the wonderful house that I have now. This old sage sincerely thanks you from the bottom of his ancient heart. You are _more_ than welcome to come visit and stay as long as you like. I just wonder if this lonely, old man can keep the house clean." he chuckled as a joke.

But Tew didn't see it as that. His heart felt heavy, falling down to the pit of his stomach, as he took a Poké Ball out of his pocket and handed it to the man. He then handed him a Luxury Ball, an item coveted by a certain one of his Pokémon.

_The chinchilla appeared on the field, dusting himself off habitually with his tail before beginning. It didn't make much sense because he was more than likely going to get even dirtier in battle than he did staying in his Poké Ball. And he didn't even get dirty in his Poké Ball. But according to Minccino, he was downright filthy. He's more than once bugged his trainer for a Luxury Ball because they had a reputation for being one of the cleanest capsules, next to a Master Ball. (Chapter 19)_

"Why, what's this?" the Sage asked as he accepted the two items in a confused manner.

The boy's verdant eyes were welling up with tears as he spoke. "Please, put him in the Luxury Ball. He's always wanted a clean place to live."

"I don't understand…" the man said.

"Just please, let me leave before Chilla reali-" he began to plead, but was cut off.

It was too late. Chilla had already broken out of his Poké Ball and began screaming at his trainer as he caught wind of what he was happening. The little chinchilla was enraged to a degree that scared even the boy.

Tew tried to interrupt the little infuriated Pokémon. "Chilla, its for the best. He needs you he-"

Chilla refused to let his trainer speak as tears of anger began rolling down his face, continuing to yell.

Tew began to grow angry along with his Pokémon as he was unable to voice his side of the argument. An annoying bird touched down on the ground nearby and began pecking at the dirt for food. That was when an idea formed inside of his head. "Chester, use Energy Ball."

His Chespin gave him an odd look as Minccino continued screaming. But as he looked at his trainer's face, he could see that it was wracked with both misery and anger. He followed orders and fired an orb of energy that exploded the poor bird.

The trainer reeled back and threw an empty Poké Ball, capturing the ruffian bird and holding capsule in front of Chilla's face. "There. See? I just filled your spot. I don't need you anymore." he said angrily down at his Pokémon.

This only made the little chinchilla furious at him. It made him realize that there was only one way.

Tew snatched Chilla's Poké Ball from the Sage's hand and threw it on the ground, stomping it to tiny bits and pieces, destroying the Pokémon's home. "There!" he said, kicking the shards of the capsule off into the wind. "Now you can just shut up!"

Chilla fell silent. His body went numb with pain as he could only stand there and look at his Poké Ball flying off into the evening wind.

"I don't need you anymore, okay?!" the boy nearly choked as he began to run away as fast as his legs would carry him, tears falling behind him.

Chester was left standing there with a petrified Chilla. "Hey," he said as he turned to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Chilla said, nodding his head slowly and returning to reality from a void of pain. "I'm fine."

"You know he loves you, right?" the hedgehog said.

"He's not coming back for me like he is for Ria, is he?"

Chester fell silent, unable to answer his friend's question as he truly didn't know either.

Chilla folded his arms and scoffed "Figures. Hey, tell me one thing, though."

"What is it?"

"Remember how we were back in that cave and Tew mumbled something about Shi Bend?"

_Tew's body twitched once, but violently. His mouth began moving as he whispered faintly in a weak voice. "The boy who lies, will be the boy who dies."_

_Chilla looked over at the boy who had suddenly fell silent again. "Wh- what was that?" he asked, somewhat astonished._

_Chester's body was frozen. His quills fell limp and his eyes fell dim like a dull streetlight._

_"Ch- Chester?" Kakuna whimpered, seeing all of the life of the hedgehog seem to drain out of him in an instant._

_Chilla approached Chester and was within breathing distance of him. "Chester, what was that?"_

_"The boy who lies, will be the boy who dies. All will come to an end at the Shi Bend. And the boy who shrouded himself in darkness, will find the sky starless. Hell will ascend at the Shi Bend when a question asked…" (Chapter 22)_

"Yeah, what about it?" Chester asked.

"What is it? What's Shi Bend?"

Chester fell silent once again, but this time out of blatant refusal to answer the question.

"Come on," Chilla groaned. "It's not like you're ever gonna see me again. Just tell me."

"F- Fine." the hedgehog grumbled. "Back before all of this, Tew met this fortune teller person. They predicted his future and said that about him. Shi Bend is the place where his journey ends."

"Wish I could help you figure it out." Chilla sighed. "But you'd better get going. He's gotten pretty far."

"Don't worry, I'm faster than him!" Chester said as he began to chase after his trainer.

Tew ran off into the sunset, having made another heartbreaking choice. Another team member was lost, but for a good cause. As long as he clung to that, he wouldn't be so sad. But just like Ria, if he turned back, even for a second, he would have changed his mind. This is why he kept running, even after he had nothing else left in him. If he stopped just for a second while he was conscious, he would have turned around. That was something he could not do. The boy ran until he collapsed.

**. . .**

A few days later, about a week and a half since he was separated from his friends, Tew arrived at the train station at the base of Trial Mountain. A worker flagged him down, saying there was a note left for him. He accepted the little piece of paper and unfolded it in his hands, reading it.

"_Dear Tew,_

_If you're reading this, that means Reina and I had to continue our journey and we couldn't wait for you any longer. But this doesn't mean we left because we got tired of waiting. We have our own journeys to worry about, too. We're so sorry. But I'm sure we'll meet down the road again soon. If not, then at the Pokémon League. _

_I promise you, Tew. We're gonna see each other again. And when I do see you, you're gonna get the biggest hug of your life, so I hope your chest is all healed up, because if it's not, I'm gonna break it._

_Love, Damien and Reina, your best friends"_

After reading the note, Tew folded it up and placed it in his back pocket next to the note his little sister had given him. He wiped his hand over his face and sighed, stepping out of the station and out into the big, mysterious world ahead of him. With a new resolve, he was ready to tackle everything that stood in his way, along with uncovering Tel's apparent 'plan', if he had one. and figuring out what Hyland was up to. Tewson Hylandius, Guildmaster of The Weedles Guild, and aspiring Pokémon Master, had came out on the other end of the first leg of his journey alive, and he was damn proud of it. Climbing the Mountain of Trials was behind him.


	35. Chapter 35

The Champion Circuit

Across Nothing Plain

Chapter 35

True terror, a feeling not many have felt that transcends far above fear. It is what makes your skin crawl all over your body and causes the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up so tall that you can easily believe they're frozen. That uncontrollable tremor that shoots throughout your body like a bullet train and numbs your very soul. An unpredictable force that cannot be stopped and can take the form of anything it pleases.

On the calm, grassy plains of Route 5, a terrible force disturbed the balance of the area. The winds that once blew so calmly through the air had faded away, as if they were sucked up and swallowed whole by it. It was right here, right now that Tew stood, meeting true terror right in the face. "Well, well, well," it said in a very sinister, but oddly smooth and coercive voice. "Isn't this a surprise?"

Tew could only stand there. His limbs trembled with anxiety as all of his nerves screamed for him to leave. On the contrary, his body also grew the insatiable urge to wrap his small hands around the boy's neck. It was an appetite he had not hungered for in quite some time, but yearned for it to come back and his chance to finally satisfy it.

The green-eyed force of nature walked around him, looking him up and down. He grabbed the boy's scrawny arm and squeezed it. No muscle, as he expected. "Hm. Someone's all grown up."

His mouth was wired shut by his own fear. So much did he want to express his feelings, but no words would be able to properly articulate the building anger and rage inside of him. But a question burned in the back of his throat that allowed him to open his mouth. "What are you doing here, Tel?"

"Why, me?" the younger boy asked, pointing at himself. "I'm just here doing some shopping." he casually said. "Your birthday's coming up, so I thought I might get you something."

He grew cross with his adversary's playful banter. "Just tell me what you're planning."

Tel shook his head and let out a disappointed chuckle, which quickly turned into a full-out burst of laughter as he clapped happily and slapped his knee. "Oh come on," he said through his laughter as he held his gut. "You know just as well as I do that birthday presents are a surprise!"

"Fine," Tew groaned as he folded his arms, admitting defeat on the subject. "Just t-"

"Nuh-uh!" the amalgamation of terror held up his finger and shushed the hero. "My turn to ask a question now." His voice suddenly shifted from playful to disheartened, as if it shook with actual sadness. "Why'd you have to go and do what you did to poor Audie?"

Tew's eyebrow forcibly rose due to shock. He even almost let out a surprised laugh. "Excuse me?"

Just as quickly as his voice went from happy to sad, it veered from sad to an unconfinable rage that exploded in a yell as he now stood inches away from the boy's face. "Oh don't you play dumb with me! You know exactly what you did!"

"What _I _did?"

"Come on," Tel smirked as he nudged the boy with his elbow. "You know just as well as I do that you've _always_ been curious."

Tew held back the urge to push him away and simply backed up with his arms folded tighter. "I've never been curious about girls."

"Oh, sure. Of course that's what you want me and everyone else to think. I mean, its perfect." he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Get tired of one thing so you go after another, but you don't want anyone to know about it because you're not ready to admit your curiosity yet, so you devise a plan, much like _you_ did, and set it up so it looks like _I _did it."

"Are you really that far down in denial?"

"Are _YOU_ really that far down in denial?"

Tew groaned as his anger began to rise higher and higher, his face turning a bright red with it.

"Well," Tel shrugged his shoulders again. "I guess there's one thing neither of us counted on- Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms. Man, what a plot twist."

"You're so full of it." Tew scoffed. "The DNA didn't even match me."

"Didn't match me either." Tel stated.

"Right," Tew chuckled. "Like you even got tested in the first place. Look, you can't pin this on me, alright? I don't like girls and I didn't rape Audie, so why don't you just come out and admit you did it?"

"Arceus Above," Tel sighed as he rubbed his hand over his face, taking a breath and stepping back. He let out a sly chuckle as he began pacing around the older boy. "You know, I always hated it when you'd act like you never did anything... _or remembered what I was talking about._"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tew quickly said, growing restless as he tapped his foot.

"See…" the younger boy snickered. "All this time you've been telling yourself we're completely different. You even gave up the gift we were given as little kids! We used to train together." He created a little ball of fire in his hands and held it in front of Tew's face, letting it flicker. "Don't you remember the good ol' days? Or did you make yourself forget?"

The dancing flame began to ignite memories Tew long ago repressed. Fear and anxiety started to wrap around his airways, restricting him from breathing. He slapped the boy's hand away, causing the flames to disintegrate into the air. "I don't know what you're talking about." the hero growled through his teeth.

"You know, the truth is…" he sidled up to the boy's ear with his voice falling to a low, seductive whisper. "We're the same, brother…" his voice dragged out each word as long as he possibly could. "And you know it. The only difference is… _I don't pretend to be something I'm not_."

Tew jumped back and immediately grabbed a Poké Ball from his pocket, calling out his Chespin, no longer saying a word.

"Why'd you choose to forget?!" the younger boy screamed in emotional agony. "We had fun as kids but you had to go off and be all hero-y and ruin it! Remember all the days we spent hating our dad? How we'd run away and have adventures?! Why are you pretending like none of that happened?!"

Silence fell over the world around them. It was as if the two were now looking at completely different people, one who chose to forget their past, and the other that chose to never forget.

A tiny flame ignited in the palm of Tel's hand, swirling up his body into a raging inferno and engulfed him, burning hotter and brighter than any fire he'd lit before. The scarlet flames quickly disappeared as he emerged from them with a Poké Ball in his hand. "Fine then," he said in his sinister voice. "I'll play your game. Then I'll make you see… just how much of a fraudulent hero you really are!"

A Fennekin appeared before him, teeth shrouded in flames. She released a powerful blast of fire from her mouth. Chester and his trainer both rolled out of the way just in time. They looked back and caught a glimpse of their opponent's terrible power as the fire engulfed a section of the plains and burned it to ashes within mere seconds.

Fennekin rushed Chester and bit down on his arm with sharp fangs, unleashing another blast of fire that devoured him and exploded on impact. The hedgehog shot up from the fiery blast and fired hard-packed globs of mud down on the fox. She evaded each one and countered with a colorful beam of psychic energy that struck him mid-air, shocking him like an electrical attack.

Chester fell to the ground on his feet and lunged at his foe, jabbing her repeatedly with arms seeped in deadly poison. Blow after blow pushed her back until she managed to rake his chest with sharp claws. He jumped up and attempted to crash an Energy Ball down on her, but was stopped by an invisible force. It revealed itself as psychic field that bounced him back and surrounded him, holding him in mid-air and shocking him vigorously. With her opponent floating in the air, Fennekin released another blast of fire that consumed him.

Right as she was about to deal the finishing blow, an electrical shock fiercely struck her. Tew took that opportunity to dive out onto the battlefield and save his partner from falling into the ground. Another bolt of electricity flung wildly and shocked the older boy as he used his body to shield the hedgehog.

An Electivire stepped in the middle of the battle and aimed at Fennekin, firing a shock that caused her trainer to dive and grab her out of harm's way.

"I'm surprised you've still got a guild to call reinforcements from!" Tel said as he continued to dodge the incoming bolts.

Tew struggled to his feet, his body sizzling from the electricity coursing through him. "W- why would I have it attack me if I did?" he stammered.

"What?" Tel looked back at his brother with consternation. As he diverted his attention, a bolt of electricity struck him and shocked him to his core.

Chester jumped out of his trainer's arms and flung globs of mud that hit the Thunderbolt Pokémon and blinded it. Fennekin joined him in standing against their new enemy, united under a common cause.

Tew, however, was not on board with working with him. In fact, he briefly contemplated abandoning him, but his weak body wouldn't allow him to take a single step. He was forced to join forces with Tel, much to his dismay. The feeling was mutual as Tel reluctantly joined his brother by his side, helping him stand up by supporting him on his shoulder.

The Electivire charged at the two Pokémon with his arms spread wide, soaring in between them and delivering a swift and powerful chop to their bodies while doing so. It brought them into the ground and used its two tails to hold them down. As he trapped the two Pokémon, it sent electricity through its body and discharged it out of its tail, electrifying them relentlessly.

Tel was forced to intervene and shoot a blast of fire at the Thunderbolt Pokémon, sending it flying back and releasing their Pokémon from its grasp. Chester and Fennekin stood back up and combined their powers, releasing a mixed Energy Ball and Solar Beam together. The attack struck Electivire and caused a massive explosion while doing so. As the smoke cleared, the enemy was nowhere to be found. Its disappearance left both of the boys befuddled.

As the battle seemed to have come to an end, Tel saw no reason to keep supporting his brother. He threw him off to the ground with a disgusted look, calling him "Pitiful" for playing the act of a hero. "We both know what you really are." The boy returned his Pokémon and summoned a portal of fire in front of him, slowly walking toward it. "You can hold your head and fool yourself with your fake confidence as much as you want, but it won't mean a single thing when I finish tearing you down and burning away this fraudelent image you've depicted of yourself. You're no hero, and you were never intended to be."

Tew watched as his younger brother faded into the fiery portal, the flames dissipating shortly after. He picked himself up and took a deep breath, diverting his attention away from his wounds. His brother's words echoed through his head loudly and without meaning, paining him more than his physical body. He resumed walking along the dirt pathway, beginning a darker journey inside of himself to keep down what he spent years blocking away and his excusion across a wide, open field that he knew would be nothing plain.


	36. Chapter 36

**AN: Hello, everyone. I apologize for not having updated the story in such a long time. Recently, I have come to find that my work, I feel, has been less than exemplary and certainly not the quality work you all deserve. It is for this reason I am taking time off in order to work on my writing style, fine-tune certain aspects of the story, and provide the quality work that I know I can give to you all. That is my main reason for updating at this time, just to get this important message to everyone out there. I graciously thank you for your continued support and I hope to have things up and running again quite soon. Until then, please, enjoy reading and PM me with any questions or concerns any of you may have. **

**Until next time,**

**-MikeV1**

* * *

><p>The Champion Circuit<p>

Across Nothing Plain

Chapter 36

It was a bright, new morning. The term bright was being used loosely, as it was actually quite cloudy with a small layer of fog just above the ground. Sun somehow managed to shine through the thick clouds, giving a dim light to the world. Cool winds blew through the grassy plains, carrying Cottonee and Drifblim with them.

Tew and his Pokémon sat in the daybreak and watched them blow by as they moderately enjoyed their breakfast: a can of soup and a few pieces of bread. It was a decent breakfast, but it wasn't the fact that it was just soup and bread, but the fact that a very vital part of the breakfast itself was missing. And that key component was Chilla, the OCD Minccino. He would usually take over all breakfast duties and work it until perfection was made. What Tew created was decent and very much edible, but far from the standard Minccino had set for himself. Not even the food that morning was what Chilla could consider to be a 'low standard'. It was a change that had to be made and something Tew, Chester, Pierce, and Shido would have to get used to.

As the team finished their breakfast, they stood up for the usual morning stretches that got them ready for the day. Distraught among the group soon struck as they quickly realized the most important element of morning stretches was missing. It was none other than Ria, the Blue Warrior, that always led the routine. The group really began to feel a sense of disorientation as their entire morning had been thrown off track.

Tew watched his Pokémon slump over into a depression and couldn't stand it anymore. "Hey, guys, come on!" he said, helping them up to their feet. "We can still do stretches on our own!" the boy completely lied through his teeth. Neither he nor any of his Pokémon could recall any of the stretches that they usually did. They always figured Ria would be around, so they never bothered remembering. _Especially_ Chilla, who wasn't even there anymore.

The young boy was trying this new thing where he refused to give up, thanks to the confidence a certain therapist and two of his friends placed in him. _One of them couldn't really even be called a friend at the moment. But we'll get into that later this arc._ For now, Tew was focused on revitalizing his team, along with his journey. "No more moping around!" he said in his best impersonation of a drill sergeant. "We're gonna be doing some _serious_ working out today! You guys got that?"

Chester tiredly nodded at the boy. Pierce buzzed around aimlessly, trying to find something to do _other_ than that. Shido was really the only that seemed remotely interested in what their trainer had planned for them.

"Alright, so, do this!" the boy said as he raised his leg up and extended out. It was similar to some kind of karate pose that would have looked way better if a professional were doing it. Shido imitated the odd stance, feeling no burn in his leg but a slight discomfort in his pelvis. It soon rose up to his stomach, and then to his throat. This definitely wasn't from the stretch. Most likely, the discomfort stemmed from his trainer giving him sriracha for the first time since joining the team. The discomfort finally released itself in the form of vomit that sprayed all over Chester, purely by accident, of course. And of course, he didn't see it that way.

Without Chilla to clean him up, the hedgehog was forced to find a different means of cleaning himself up. Shido was hunched over behind a bush, violently vomiting out what his trainer hoped wasn't vital organs. Pierce still blindly buzzed around in search of an activity to occupy his boredom.

A squeaky, almost half-grunt noise caught the attention of Tew as he looked to see Pikachu trying its hardest to stay up on one leg. It truly felt the burn of the stretch as it desperately tried to keep electricity from leaking from its cheeks. "See, guys?" the boy said, pointing at the mouse. "How come you guys can't be more like Pikachu? He's committed to doing stretches."

Something was horribly wrong with that entire statement, nonetheless, the entire situation here. Tew could feel a sense of apprehension shoot through all of his nerves. It was time for a roll call. Chester was now violently vomiting, due to the violent vomit that covered him. Shido was _still_ puking his poor brains out. Pierce had finally found something to do, which was surprising. However, given the fact that he was still fairly young for a Beedrill, it wasn't surprising _what_ he was doing. He seemed to had mistaken a wild Floette's flower as one he could suck pollen from. The Rufflet he captured was tucked away safely in his Poké Ball, not having the intention of keeping the little bird.

All that was left was Pikachu, participating in the stretching as it always did. _Except it never did because he never had a Pikachu to begin with._ Upon the sudden realization, the yellow rat saw the jig was up. It discharged a wild blast of electricity, shocking everyone and thing within range and bolted off the scene, not before giving the boy a sly grin, however.

"Gentlemen!"

The Pokémon answered their trainer's summons and mustered at his side with dirty faces in the foggy morning. They stood like soldiers responding to the cry of their sergeant, ready for action. Each one of them stood up straight, shoulders back and pelvises out.

"After that Pikachu!" the general ordered.

The troops fanned out and began their mission to capture the designated target. As it quickly tore through the fields, they caught up and began their merciless assault on the creature. Chester dashed and fired globs of mud. Pikachu skillfully evaded each one as they exploded into the ground. It fired an electrical shock to get the hedgehog off its back and continued its escape. Shido darted in a jet of water, hastily closing in on the mouse as they were now neck and neck. The otter unsheathed a scalchop and slashed at it. Pikachu smacked it away with a powerful whip of its tail and shocked him. He quickly fell behind, leaving only Pierce to close the gap. The bee quickly blew past the Pikachu and struck the ground in front of it with blades of air, kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt. Using the cover of the dust cloud, Pierce swooped down and jabbed at the troublemaker with a Fury Cutter. Pikachu was able to see through the tactic and jumped high out of the smoke, dropping wicked bolts of thunder all around it. Beedrill was eventually struck. As the rat landed on the ground, a surprise attack from the boy lunging at it from the tall grasses was easily repelled by another powerful jolt of electricity. Only the shock wasn't what blew the boy back. In fact, the attack missed completely as another force grabbed the boy by his shoulders and held him back.

"Hold it!" a female voice from deep within the thin fog said.

Tew struggled in the strong arms of what was a Dusknoir as he turned around to see his holder in the face. "Let go of me!" he roared. The ghostly Pokémon only tightened his grip on the boy as he kept him back. "Ch- Chester! Mud Shot!"

Chester quickly recovered from the previous attack upon seeing his trainer in trouble. He jumped at the ghost and crashed a ball of mud into his face. The muck got into his eyes, causing him to double over in pain and release the boy who fell to the ground.

"I said, hold it!" the female voice cried out again, now sounding much closer. Tew looked up to see a tall girl, slender in build and dainty by first glance, but furious and menacingly upset with him by second. The fog thickened, making it hard for him to see any other features about her besides the long, black hair that fell to her back, a tank top with jeans, and an orange beanie that wrapped snug around her head. "That Pikachu's _mine_." she stated.

Tew managed to bring himself to his feet as his three Pokémon surrounded him, eyeing the Dusknoir carefully. "What are you talking about? Its wild. _And_ it just shocked me."

"Listen, kid." the girl said with a fold of her arms and an annoyed look down at him. "I've been trailing that thing for two days ever since it stole my food. I have a major bone to pick with that Pikachu and I won't let you stand in my way."

"That's mighty talk coming from someone who just used their Pokémon to stop a scrawny boy." Tew barked back at her.

"Excuse me, but my Dusknoir, Grimace, was only assisting in saving you. You should be thankful!"

"Thankful?" he scoffed. "I can handle myself, thank you very much."

"Yeah? Then how come all of your Pokémon look hurt?" she pointed out.

The boy stepped in front of his Pokémon who were ready to lunge at the Dusknoir and spread one of his arms out to stop them in their tracks. "I'll have you know we're _just_ fine." he angrily stated.

As the arguing continued, the Pikachu sat back and watched with pleasure. However, growing bored due to no punches being thrown, it shocked both of the trainers and their Pokémon. This only succeeded in making the tensions rise even higher, which was exactly what the Pikachu wanted.

"That's it!" Tew screamed, ready to pounce the Pikachu. Grimace, the Dusknoir, held him back again. That prompted Chester to fire another Mud Shot at the ghost, blasting him in the face with it once again.

"Tell your Pokémon to stop hurting my Dusknoir!" the girl said as she took out a rag and wiped the gunk clear from his eyes.

"Not until you tell your Pokémon to stop attacking me!"

"Attacking you?!" she said with an astounded chuckle. "He was _obviously_ saving you!"

"How dumb do you think I am to believe you?"

The dark haired girl balled her fists up and grew exceedingly irritated with the younger boy. "Fine!" she gave in her side of the argument. "If you want that Pikachu so bad, then you'll have to go through _me_ first! One on one battle! Winner gets full rights to chase the Pikachu!"

"We'll gladly tear you down!" Tew proclaimed. "Shido, please!"

A battle deep within the foggy morning of the world was beginning to take place. The Silent Samurai stepped forward and unsheathed his scalchops with a swordsman's grace, bracing himself in his stance. He eyed his opponent carefully through the thick mist, studying any subtle changes in his movements.

"We'll get that Pikachu! Grimace, use Shadow Punch!" the girl ordered.

Dusknoir thrusted his hand forward, sending a shadowy fist blowing down the field at incredible speed.

"Use Razor Shell and keep going!" Tew commanded.

Dewott's weapons became imbued with the power of a raging storm. The Mystic Water dangling from his neck by a sturdy thread shined brightly as he held his scalchops in front of him, cleaving straight through the incoming attack. He charged down the field and sliced at his opponent twice with each scalchop. There was enough force behind the move for the mighty ghost to lose balance and slide back, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Shadow Ball!"

An orb of eerie power ripped through the fog and slammed into an unsuspecting Dewott. He flew back from the force of the attack, his Special Defense taking a slight decline. His spirit, however, only rose as he stood up, determined to defeat the ghostly opponent.

"Aqua Jet!"

"Stop it with Shadow Punch!"

The otter shrouded his body in water as he quickly took off, shooting through the thick fog at his opponent. He executed a serpentine pattern in order to throw off what he thought was a head-on attack coming toward him. Much to his surprise, he was met with two spectral hands grabbing him by his sides. Aqua Jet was completely stopped and canceled out as the ghostly hands clenched the otter.

"What?!" Tew gawked. "How's that even possible?"

"Now, Griamce, Shadow Ball!"

"Quick, use Ice Beam!"

Dusknoir appeared in front of the trapped Dewott. The mouth on his stomach opened wide as an orb of eerie power began to take form deep inside of it. While the otter was being bound by the shadowy hands, he saw that his opponent left him wide open. Quite literally. Dewott blasted the Gripper Pokémon in his stomach, sending him flying back. The shadow hands released their victim and he back-flipped to safety.

The girl clenched her teeth in anger as she called for her Pokémon's next move. "Confuse Ray!"

Dusknoir fired an eerie beam of darkness that shocked Dewott and corrupted his composed state of mind. The otter began screaming and acting on his own, flinging his dual scalchops around blindly as he fumbled through the fog. A terrible headache pained him as his vision went blurry, no longer being able to comprehend friend or foe.

"Shadow Punch!"

The Silent Samurai met his end at the powerful orb flying into him. He fell to the ground, defeated. This made the girl the winner and gave her sole rights to chasing after the Pikachu, per their agreement. It would have been an accomplishment, however, had the Pikachu actually _stuck around_ for the battle. Once the trainers looked over in the grass where the yellow rat originally stood, that was all they saw- just grass. Pikachu had escaped her yet again.


	37. Chapter 37

The Champion Circuit

Across Nothing Plain

Chapter 37

The girl was understandably furious at yet another successful flee of the Pikachu. Upon seeing her rising frustration, Tew had a moment of clarity from his own anger.

"Wow, that Pikachu's really been eating at you…" he said as he calmed down.

The girl chuckled loudly and gave him an irked look. Eyebrows low and angry, eyes red with irritation. She hadn't spared him a bit of her wrath and went the whole nine yards. "Yeah, and because of you, it got away _again_!"

"I'm sorry I got in your way." the boy calmly apologized. "I didn't know you were after it, too. I was just so heated up and I've been stressed recently." he explained as he spoke back to the recent departure of two of his companions.

She hadn't expected him to be so understanding after the battle. It threw her off guard as she could only stand there. "Three days…" she murmured under her breath before letting out a big yawn. "Three days I've been after that Pikachu… It always runs away before I can even land a hit on it. I'm sorry," she began to apologize. "I've just- its been so hard to sleep when that rat keeps coming back to shock you."

Tew could tell the poor girl was exhausted. Even through the thick fog, bags hang low under her red, irritated eyes. Her posture was terrible, almost as if she could fall over any moment. Grimace, the girl's Dusknoir, also appeared to be in pretty bad shape. If she had any more Pokémon, there's no telling how they would look. "Hey, why don't you get some sleep?"

The girl groaned in distress. "I'd love to, but weren't you listening? Every time I try to, that Pikachu keeps coming back!"

"Don't worry," the boy said as his Pokémon sprightly mustered to his side. "We've gotten plenty of sleep. We can be your look-outs, and if the Pikachu comes back, we'll wake you up!"

She looked at them skeptically with her arms folded, letting out another big yawn. "Yeah, sure. You'll probably just take your chance and catch it and leave me out here sleeping."

Tew quickly shook his head, not even having the intention, but being able to understand the girl's suspicion. "No, really, I won't. We… aren't exactly in the mood for another team member at the moment."

The girl was still unsure of the boy, giving him the same amount of doubt, which, was fair. She had barely slept in three days having to deal with a wild Pikachu and now she was expected to trust a complete stranger to _watch_ her sleep. Her irritation overrode the usual 'give everyone a chance' motto she lived by. "Sorry, but no tha-" She found herself oddly interrupted by the boy placing a Poké Ball containing a Rufflet in her hands. "What's this?" the girl asked, looking down at the capsule.

"Its one of my Pokémon." Tew stated. "Its insurance. If I betray your trust and capture the Pikachu, then you get to keep my Rufflet."

Surely the boy was completely out of his mind. Or incredibly naive. Never before had a bargain such as this had been presented to her. She almost began to think something was wrong with the Rufflet, but it appeared to be just fine in the capsule. Letting out a small sigh, she gave in, set up camp, and disappeared into her tent with the boy's Pokémon gripped tightly in her hands.

Had Tew actually had ill intentions towards the girl, it would have worked out perfectly as he didn't exactly _want_ the Rufflet to begin with. That was a thought of a darker nature that hadn't crossed his mind in a long time. He questioned why he even made a deal like that in the first place. Was his regard to Rufflet so _horrifyingly low_ that he'd just placed it under the care of a complete stranger that could have been faking their exhaustion the entire time to exploit his kindness? No matter how many times he asked himself that question, the same answer reared its ugly head. He just flat out didn't care. He hadn't felt such nothingness for a Pokémon in a very long time. Not since he was friends with Tel.

With the passing of time, fog had finally lifted itself from the cloudy world. The plains with grasses that once shined bright like emeralds under the sun were now stricken with a drab, dull tint of grey. Winds blew through them softly, bringing a chilled forecast in their wake. No longer would the boy's grey t-shirt with black skinny jeans keep him warm. Thanks to Pierce's careless devouring of his guild sweatshirt when he was a Weedle, Tew was left with the only option of covering up in a heavy pink hoodie that had an Ultra Ball logo in the middle of it. It was something he hadn't worn in quite a long time, not having a need for it until now.

True to the boy's word, he stuck around while the girl quietly slept the day away, having all but Rufflet out to keep him company. Seeing her in such a peaceful slumber made him want to take a nap himself. His duties prevented him from doing so and he grew immediately jealous. He needed something to take his mind off of things. Nothing he came up with seemed to work for long, unfortunately. Whether it was making food to eat, starting a warm campfire, working on new morning stretches- all his mind could think about was sleep.

"Maybe she won't mind if I just close my eyes for a few seconds…" Tew yawned as his body grew heavy with thoughts of a blissful slumber. His green eyes slowly closed and he fell back into the dirt. Upon falling into the deep slumber, the back of his head smacked against the ground, instantly snapping him out of it. He opened his eyes to none other than the wild Pikachu sitting happily on his lap. His Pokémon were anxious, ready to strike, but holding themselves back out of fear they might hurt their trainer. The Pikachu smiled gleefully and discharged electricity from his cheeks, shocking the boy and running off. However, thanks to everyone being on guard, Dewott, Chespin, and Beedrill managed to quickly surround the rat, blocking any means of escape.

The girl drowsily crawled out of her tent and let out a loud, tired yawn. In her hazy vision, she saw the boy and his Pokémon huddled around something. Thinking nothing of it due to her exhaustion, she walked over to the campfire, being led by the smell of a delicacy. In their defense, after being out on a journey, almost any kind of high-branded can food could pass as a five star meal. She grabbed a piping hot bowl of it and made her way over to the boy and his Pokémon. "What's happening over here?" the girl yawned, taking a small spoon full of the soup. Her eyes suddenly focused on that little rat that had been cornered by the boy. With bowl in hand, she tossed a Poké Ball and called out what she thought was one of her Pokémon. Because she was in her pajamas, her other Pokémon were in the tent safely tucked away in their capsules, which only resulted in her calling out the boy's Rufflet due to that being the only thing she had on her.

With a bright blush of embarrassment, she rushed back into the tent and made sure to grab one of _her_ Pokémon, returning to the scene. The boy and his own Pokémon backed away to give her space. Pikachu saw this as an opportunity to bolt, but his path was blocked by a snarling Poochyena that was called out in front of him. Seeing no other choice, the yellow rat was finally forced to battle and atone for his mischievous wrongdoings.

The girl took a quick sip of soup from her bowl and sat it down next to her, focusing her mind and spirit on the battle ready to take place. Finally, she could make that Pikachu pay for the days of sleep he took from her.

Pikachu jumped up and dropped a powerful bolt of lightning down onto the little grey pup.

Her eyes narrowed on the attack as she let out a self-assured chuckle. "Gray, stir up the sand with Sand Attack!"

The Poochyena turned its back on the Pikachu, kicking up a gust of sand with its hind legs. It caught the Thunderbolt and swallowed it whole, completely cancelling out the attack in a large explosion. Pikachu respired in shock, his ears drooping down slightly.

"Surprised?" she said with a smirk. "You've given us quite the run over the past few days. But now, _I'm prepared_! Use Bite!"

The grey pup lunged at the yellow rat, bearing its sharp fangs at him. Pikachu reeled back and delivered a swift punch to the pup's jaw, proving it was more than capable of dishing out more than just Electric-type attacks, albeit his specialty. Poochyena landed on its feet, managing to shake of the super effective damage from Brick Break, and continue the battle.

"Gray, Sand Attack and Take Down!" she ordered.

Poocheyna looked up to see Pikachu crashing down on it with another Brick Break attack. It quickly turned tail and kicked a flurry of sand in his eyes, blinding him. The mouse completely missed with his obstructed vision. Poochyena was able to ram its body into him with a vicious tackle. Pikachu was blown back by the attack, barely managing to get up.

The girl took a capsule from her pocket and whipped it at the damaged rat. "Take that!"

Pikachu disappeared deep within the Poké Ball as it fell to the ground, wiggling and shaking with the rats attempts to break free. But exhaustion did the creature in and it succumbed to the ball. The terror the electrical mouse once wrought was finally brought to end by the hands of the girl.

**. . .**

"You know, I never did get your name," the girl chuckled. "Must've forgotten to ask you in all the chaos."

"I'm Tew. Tew Hyland." he smiled up at the tall girl.

The girl extended her hand and shook the boy's, making acquaintanceship. "I'm Ayou Kagefusa. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Tew replied with a warm smile. "I hope you aren't up all night."

"Trust me, I've still got _a lot_ of sleep to catch up on, but thanks for helping me out today with that Pikachu. I'm not always that cranky." Ayou chuckled lightly. "But, really, I appreciate it. Not many people would stop to help each other in this Circuit. Its just really sort of felt like everyone's on their own."

"Well, everyone could use some help sometimes." the boy said. Knowing what he had to do, he took a Poké Ball from his pocket, held down the button, and threw it high into the sky. The capsule shattered and Rufflet broke free, released of his incidental captivity. He spread his wings and sprightly took off back toward the mountains.

"What'd you do that for?" the wide-eyed girl asked him.

Tew turned back to her and let out a deep sigh, shrugging his shoulders. "Long story. Its for the best, really. It'll be happier back at home with its family."

She gave him a solemn smile and patted him on the shoulder. "Well then, that's a good thing you did for it. I just hope you don't have too much trouble at the next gym without it."

"What's the next gym?"

"Pretty sure its a Bug-type Gym, if you're going the opposite way I am, that is."

"I'll find a way to handle it. So you're heading back towards the mountains, then?"

Ayou nodded. "Any advice for the next gym up there?"

"Its a Fighting-type Gym you'll see first. The Leader there, no matter how many badges you have, she's really powerful. Stay calm and watch for an opening. That's all I can say."

"Ah," she nodded again, thinking to herself a bit. "I think me and my Wigglytuff will be able to handle that just fine. Fairy-types, y'know. Anyway, as for you… watch the field."

The boy tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean? Does the Leader have some kind of special field they use?"

"You'll see." Ayou chuckled as she walked past him and began to resume her journey towards the mountains. "You take care now, alright? Try to keep some Pokémon with you, yeah?" she chuckled, waving back at him.

"I will! You take care of that Pikachu!" he called out to her as he stood until she was out of sight. He turned his attention back to the wide, open plains in front of him. With a footstep forward, Tew continued his journey as well, valuing sleep more than ever.


	38. Chapter 38

The Champion Circuit

Across Nothing Plain

Chapter 38

"Eat up, guys." Jerold said as he placed bowls of food in front of his Pokémon. They smiled happily up at him and began to stuff their faces.

"Hey, how do they like it?" a voice asked persistently from behind.

"They seem to like it just fine." he stated as he turned around to meet the middle-aged scientist. "Thank you for letting us stay here for a little bit. We really appreciate it."

The man chuckled and waved the graciousness off. "Ah, speak nothing of it! Its been nice to have the extra help around here. Stay as long as you need!"

"Well, as great as this place is, I should be going soon." Jerold said with a smile at the man's generosity. "This is a really great thing you're doing for Pokémon here. I'd stick around, but uh.." he tugged the blue neckerchief tied around his arm. "I've got a challenge to get back to."

"Yes," the scientist solemnly nodded, following up with a convicted, but considerate sigh. "I understand. I've heard about all the trainers that entered the Champion Circuit. Many of them come by and don't really stay for too long. So from the bottom of my heart, I thank you."

Jerold firmly shook the man's hand. "You're welcome. I've just always wanted to give back to Pokémon and this seems like a really good way. Maybe I'll stop back here after the competition is over."

The scientist's eyes lit up with elation. "That would be much appreciated! You're always more than welcome back here."

A loud boom rocked the facility, causing assorted objects to fall off desks and shatter on the floor. Disturbed from their food, Jerold's Pokémon looked up, disturbed from their food. Screams of various Pokémon rang out from the fields with multiple thuds and explosions following them not too much later.

"What in the world was that?" the scientist asked as he let go of the support beam he grabbed onto.

Jerold turned to his Pokémon and returned all but his Nidoking. "Come on," he said to the scientist. "Let's go find out."

**. . .**

"Ah, sweet civilization, how I've missed you!" Tew said as he leaned against the railing surrounding a small pond. He took a deep breath, taking in the smells of the well-cooked food wafting from around him in the village and let out a content sigh. "Man, its been a while since I've been in a town. Arach Village seems like a nice place."

Chester jumped off his trainer's shoulder and allowed the many smells of delicacies to lead him by the nose. The boy followed close behind until he found the little hedgehog trying to climb up onto the counter of a small bread stand.

"Ah," the old man behind the booth smiled down at the little Chespin. "Caught the smell of my bread, haven't ya, little one?"

A young trainer came up behind the hedgehog and picked him up. "Sorry," he apologized with a chuckle. "I guess he's just a little hungry." The boy's stomach suddenly began to rumble. "I guess I'm a little hungry, too…" he added. "How much for a few pieces of bread?"

"Free!"

"What?!" the wide-eyed trainer said with his Chespin's mouth agape. "But why? Isn't that bad for business?"

"I do what I love for the purpose of pleasing people, not for making money." the baker smiled. "Now, what would you like?"

Two Pokémon voluntarily broke from the boy's capsules and stood beside him with their mouths watering. "Man, I guess we're all hungry. What's everybody feel like?" It was at that moment he remembered that he couldn't understand his Pokémon. "Er..right." he recalled. "We'll take four loaves of ciabatta, please."

The man reached back into the oven and pulled out four fresh, piping hot, powdery loaves of bread and gave them each one. "Hope you enjoy."

"Thank you, sir!" Tew smiled as he bit into his delicious loaf of bread.

Pierce and Shido followed suit and began chowing down. Chester savored the moment, staring at the golden piece of salvation. Right as he opened his mouth, expecting to bite down on a fluffy mound of cooked dough, all his teeth caught were air. The mouth-watering delicacy was stolen right from his paws by a purple, cheeky monkey climbed up on top of the stand and lorded it over him.

"Is that an Aipom?" Tew asked no one in particular. He and his Pokémon watched as the seemingly wild monkey swallowed the entire loaf whole and chortled down at the hedgehog.

Chester angrily flailed his arms up at the Aipom while she turned tail and inappropriately mooned him. This only fueled his rage. He fired globs of mud at her, but she simply Iron Tail'd them back into Shido's face. The Silent Samurai immersed himself in a quiet rage as both his face and piece of bread were covered in mud. In one motion, he drew his scalchops and threw a Razor Shell at the rowdy Pokémon, knocking them both out in one hit and putting an end to the chaos.

"Ah!" a voice yelled as an older boy approached them and picked the fainted Aipom up into his arms. "I'm so sorry! Aipom got away from me."

"Its okay," Tew said with his mouth full, mostly not caring as long as he got to eat his bread. "Sorry about your Aipom."

"Don't be." he sighed. "I'm sure whatever she did, she deserved what came to her." the boy groaned, returning the monkey to her Poké Ball. "Any way I can make it up to you?"

Tew shook his head and smiled, mouth still stuffed with bread. "Its fine!" he said, spitting a few crumbs out and returning his Chespin. "Although I think Shido may need a new piece of bread."

"Already got him covered." the man said as he handed the otter a fresh piece of bread and wiped his face clean with a cloth.

"Thank you." the young trainer said.

The older boy took notice of the blue neckerchief and smirked. "You in the Circuit?"

Tew nodded.

"I'm Jonny. Wanna battle?"

Tew quickly scarfed down whatever bread he had left and grinned at the boy. "I'm Tew, and sure! How's a one on one sound?"

"Sounds perfect!" Jonny exclaimed.

**. . .**

Tew stood in the open fields just outside of Arach Village as he faced his opponent, Jonny. The two reached for their waists and unhinged capsules, throwing them out onto the battlefield. On the opponent's side was the Aipom from earlier, taunting Chester who had been chosen on Tew's side.

"You can have the first move!" the young trainer called out.

"You'll regret giving me that!" Jonny grinned widely. "Aipom, Iron Tail!"

The purple monkey charged at the hedgehog with her large tail made of iron. The fist on the end of it balled up and struck the ground in front of him, stirring up a large cloud of dust. Chester's view became obstructed as the dust swallowed him up. Aipom made her move and slammed the fist on her tail square in his gut, sending him flying out of the cloud and onto the ground.

"What?!" Tew said with his mouth ajar. "But he didn't even call for Aipom to do that." he commented to himself.

"Aerial Ace!" Jonny quickly called out.

Aipom gave her opponent no time to rest as she dashed forward through the smoke cloud and slashed at him with her claws. The hedgehog was blown back by the power complemented by the speed, but managed to land on his feet.

"Chester, use Energy Ball!"

"Counter it with Brick Break!"

Chester fired an orb of energy at his opponent. She used the large hand on her tail to catch it and throw it back down on the ground in front of him. There was enough force behind it to send the hedgehog flying into the air once again. Aipom leaped high into the sky and flipped, slamming the big fist into him and sending him soaring back down into the ground.

"Hah! Good job, Aipom!" Jonny chuckled at his opponents. "Now, end this Aerial Ace!"

Tew grit his teeth in frustration. "Mud Shot!" he ordered.

As Aipom prepared a nose dive and began barreling straight down onto him, she was struck with hard globs of mud exploding in her face. Her sight was immediately obstructed as the brown liquid seeped into her eyes and the attack went askew, causing her to hit the ground.

"Follow up with Low Kick!"

Having gotten their momentum back, Chester quickly rushed the Aipom as she tried to get up and delivered a swift kick to her gut, sending her flying back into the trunk of a tree.

"Don't let it rest! Use Rollout!" Tew commanded.

Jonny quickly assessed the situation and saw there was no time for Aipom to dodge as she could barely get up. "Block it with Brick Break!"

Chester curled up into a ball and charged at his opponent. He was caught by the large hand on Aipom's tail and was valiantly held back. She could feel herself slowly becoming overpowered, her back pressing harder and harder against the trunk of the tree. The hedgehog refused to let up even for a second and kept the pressure on her.

Just as victory seemed certain for our hero, a powerful Hyper Beam engulfed the two Pokémon and took them out with a single hit. Both trainers exclaimed in shock as they saw a young, blonde girl with a white labcoat on, riding what they assumed the Hyper Beam to have come from, a large Scolipede.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Jonny said as he rushed over to his fainted Aipom.

"Where do you get off attacking our Pokémon like that?" Tew roared angrily, taking Chester into his arms.

"Cease and desist at once!" The girl approached the two boys on her large Megapede and looked down her nose at them. "You two miscreants should have read the rules."

"Rules?" Jonny repeated in befuddlement. "How can there be rules out here? Its the wild."

She narrowed her eyes at the older boy and growled lowly at him. "You must not have taken care to figure out where you were."

"Where we were?" Jonny repeated again. "We're on Route 6! How can there be rules against battling here?"

"That is where you are both right and wrong." the girl stated. "Yes, you are on Route 6, _but_ you are within the Wildlife Sanctuary."

Tew looked at her oddly as it was now his turn to repeat what she said. "Wildlife Sanctuary? What's that?"

The girl let out an irritated sigh as the boys continued their barrage of questions on her. "My word, are members of the Circuit _this _rebarbative and cretinous?"

"W- what?" Tew asked with a tilt of his head. "Rhubarb?"

"She just called us annoying and ignorant." Jonny clarified as he turned his head to the younger boy.

"That's rude! You're rude!" he said with a point of his finger.

"Your nefarious heedlessness of the world around you is exemplary in the fecklessness of the short circuit which you have the pleasure of calling a cerebral cortex and cerebral hemispheres."

Tew looked to Jonny for a watered down, more understandable version of what she said, but the boy could only shrug his shoulders. "Erm… I'm as lost as you are on this one, kid."

While lost in their confusion, a large explosion far off in the distance was powerful enough to shake the ground beneath them, nearly blowing the two boys off their feet with the force behind it. The girl exclaimed in horror as the blast was near the Wildlife Sanctuary she spoke of earlier. She took off on her Scolipede towards the site, leaving the boys behind.

"What about us?" Tew cried out.

"Don't worry," Jonny quickly took a capsule out of his pocket and tossed it in the sky. A Pidgeot descended in front of them from a flash of light and he got on. "We can follow her. Hop on!"

Tew quickly climbed up on the bird's back and held onto the older trainer as they took off into the sky, racing to the danger on the horizon. Anything could have caused the terrible blast. The two boys put their guard up as they approached the Wildlife Sanctuary Facility.

* * *

><p><strong>Credit to Tumpelo for their OC, Jerold Reed! <strong>

**Credit to MR105 for their OC, Jonathan "Jonny" Canden!**

**AN: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! I've decided to reopen OC submission. I am accepting one or possibly two more new characters into the story, as I've discovered there are a few blank/filler areas. This is open to anyone who would like to submit another character. Even if you have already submitted one, you may take part in this and submit up to TWO more. If you have already submitted a character, submitting another one will NOT cause your previously submitted one to be removed. However, if you submit two more now, only ONE will be accepted. For now, there is no set deadline for when characters must be submitted. There are rules for these characters, however.**

**ALSO, if you wish to make any changes to your character's clothing, their FINAL teams for the league, and any moves that ANY of their Pokemon know, PLEASE message me. I've gotten a lot of submissions that seem like people copy and pasted the best moveset they could find off Smogon. You don't have to do that. This story follows ANIME logic. Powerful moves like Fire Blast and Thunder do NOT have reduced accuracy like they would in games. Moves like Razor Leaf and Water Pulse can be extremely powerful if your character has trained their Pokemon correctly. Want to use Bone Rush against a Flying-type? It'll hit. Even though the move is a Ground-type move, the user creates a staff of energy to hit the opponent with. Its commonly believed that Ground-type moves do NOT hit Flying-type Pokemon in game because they could usually fly out of the way, which is the case for moves like Dig and Earth Power. However, moves like Bone Rush and Mud Shot are not so easily avoidable by Flying-types, as seen in the anime when Ash's Hawlucha was struck twice by Korrina's Mega Lucario using Bone Rush. Moves like Copycat, Mimic, and Mirror Move could really turn the tide of battle and make it MUCH more interesting. Same for status moves as well.**

1. You may submit two separate characters, but only ONE will be accepted, no matter how good both of them are. This is to increase your chances of getting a character accepted, however, it is NOT required to submit two.

2. The character(s) you submit are banned from having the following Pokemon due to an over abundance of them in previously submitted characters: **Pichu, Pikachu, Raichu, Treecko, Grovyle, Sceptile, Riolu, Lucario, Mega Lucario, Gligar, Gliscor, Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Pidgeot, Torchic, Combusken, Blaziken, Mega Blaziken, Shinx, Luxio, Luxray, Gible, Gabite, Garchomp, Bagon, Shelgon, Salamence, Cyndaquil, Quilava, Typhlosion.** If your character(s) are submitted with any one of these Pokemon in their teams, I will ask you to change it. Failure to do so will result in the disqualification of your character(s).

3. Submitted character(s) are STILL NOT ALLOWED to have any legendary Pokemon. If any one of them has a legendary on their teams, I will ask you to change it. Failure to do so will result in the disqualification of said character(s).

4. Your character must not exceed the age of 24 and also must not be under the age of 14.

5. Characters MUST wear the blue neckerchief to dignify they are participating in the Circuit

6. Your character MUST be balanced in terms of flaws and strengths. A good number of submissions I received were top heavy with strengths.

Those are the rules. Also, while yes, characters that are nice and friendly are good to have in the arsenal for me to choose from, I have received A LOT of happy-go-lucky, friendly, and nice characters. There isn't anything wrong with this, except for the fact that now over a majority of the ones I have are really nice, well-rounded people and its hard to make a conflict/exciting rivalry with Tew. While yes, Tew is an example of what I just said and that makes me a hyprocrite, certain things _will _ happen later in the story to change his somewhat heroic personality if you hadn't caught on already with his confrontation with Tel. In short, nice and goody characters are great, but I have so many of them. It'd be _so_ great to have some variety with these characters.

* * *

><p><strong>The Champion Circuit OC Submission Form<strong> (Please, try and skip spaces in between each section, rather than sending me one huge block of text) xD

1. Full name with any nicknames they may have

2. Age/Gender/Sexual Orientation

3. Appearance section

-Height:

-Build:

-Skin color:

-Hair color:

-Hairstyle (Please be as detailed as possible):

-Eye color:

-Extras (Accessories such as tattoos, scars, disfigurations, etc.):

4. Clothing section (Please be as detailed as possible)

-Normal wear:

-Sleep wear/Pajamas:

-Swim wear:

-Kind of bag (backpack, knapsack, drawstring backpack, shoulder bag, etc.):

5. Hometown/home region

6. Personality section (Please be as detailed as possible)

-General personality and how they act on a regular basis (if they have any mental disorders, fears/phobias, etc.):

-Character strengths:

-Character flaws:

-Talents/hobbies outside of battling:

7. Backstory/History (Please be as detailed as possible):

-Backstory/history

-Are they close with any of their family members?

8. What they scored on both exams/Accomplishments (You need above a sixty on both battle and written exams to pass):

9. Chosen Pokemon to enter the Circuit with

-Species/Nickname if they have one/Gender

-Ability:

-Held item:

-Personality:

-Why did your character enter with this Pokemon?

10. Five Pokemon to be obtained within the story

10.1. -Species/Nickname if they have one/Gender

-Ability:

-Held item:

-Moves:

-Personality:

10.2. -Species/Nickname if they have one/Gender

-Ability:

-Held item:

-Moves:

-Personality:

(Copy and paste for each Pokemon 10.1-10.5)

11. Team to use in the league

11.1. -Species/Nickname if they have one/Gender

-Ability:

-Held item:

-Moves:

-Personality:

11.2. -Species/Nickname if they have one/Gender

-Ability:

-Held item:

-Moves:

-Personality (League Pokemon will likely not be shown out of battle and DO NOT NEED a personality unless you feel like giving them one):

(Copy and paste for each Pokemon 11.-11.6)

12. Battle style (head-on, wait-and-see/strategy buster, stall, baton pass, using the field to their advantage, entry hazards, etc. (Please be as detailed as possible))

13. Anything else you feel I need to know

**Please, PM me with any questions you have or if the form is too confusing. I borrowed the general idea from Legacy918 (I hope they don't mind..)**


	39. Chapter 39

The Champion Circuit

Across Nothing Plain

Chapter 39

"Hey, is everyone alright?!" Tew said as he rushed into the facility in the Wildlife Sanctuary. The inside of the building was a mess with broken beakers, shattered windows, and various decimated electronic devices.

A scientist looked up from the destruction of the facility and let out a pained sigh. "Ah, yes, every_one_ is fine." he groaned. His eyes swept over the destroyed array of supplies. Visibly, the man was shaken with depression. "I only wish I could have saved the equipment."

"What happened to cause all of this?" the dark-blonde boy asked, carefully stepping over broken glass and sitting by the saddened man.

The scientist adjusted his glasses and looked at the many broken windows. "There was a large explosion outside. I was going to go check it with a colleague of mine, but a second one happened and wrecked the laboratory."

"What caused the explosion?"

"I do not know." the man shook his head. "Who are you? How did you arrive here?"

"I'm Tew Hyland. I was having a battle when me and a friend saw the explosion, so we rushed over here along with some lady. I think she was a scientist, too."

"Ah!" he smiled. "That must have been Noid. She runs the facility here. If you arrived with her, then everything should be fine outside."

"Noid?" the boy folded his arms with a furrow of his brow. "That's a weird name for a girl."

"Weird as it may be, she's fantastic." the man stated.

A loud beeping from one of the many machines disturbed their conversation. The scientist stood up and adjusted his glasses once again. His eyes shifted over to a large, square tower device with a wide, tall, cylindrical tube filled with some kind of fluid connected to it.

"What's that?"

"_That_ would be the Fossil Revival Machine that Noid and I designed." he explained as he and the boy went over to it. "We found an extremely old fossil around a month ago. I had nearly forgotten about it until now."

"Whoa," Tew's eyes gleamed with curiosity. He pressed his face against the glass of the tube. Bubbles floated up to the top of the odd, blue liquid and a small piece of what appeared to be a rock floated in the center. "What's inside of here?"

The scientist began to work on the tower, pressing all kinds of buttons and turning various knobs. "That's the fossil we found."

Tew looked at the tiny fossil curiously. "I thought that fossils were supposed to be bigger than this."

"Ah, they are. Very good observation, Tew. However, this was a _very_ old fossil. Almost all of it has decayed. Its a miracle we were able to find it in this condition and an act of Arceus that we were able to even revive it."

"What's the fossil of? A Kabuto or something?"

The scientist shook his head and looked over at the boy. Surprisingly, tension was present in his brow and hesitation was in his voice. "That's the thing. Neither I or Noid have a single clue. Usually, you could tell by the pattern on a fossil what it could be. But this fossil was so decayed that we couldn't tell. Even now we have no clue."

"Whoa… so it could be anything, then?"

"Exactly. Now, please, stand back. I'm getting ready to awaken it."

Tew did as instructed and stepped back from the tube, careful not to step on any glass. The machine began to draw power from the room, making it go dim. A loud whirring sound came from the tower, its buttons flashing sporadically. The tiny fossil began to glimmer with a small light. It quickly started to grow brighter and brighter until it became unbearable to look at. Light engulfed the room and blinded them, but faded just as fast as it filled the room.

A loud gasp from the scientist caused the boy to quickly lower his hand. Their eyes had both the shock and distinct pleasure of looking at a very large Pidgeot standing before them. Its head was held low, eyes were closed, and wings were folded as it floated in the liquid. The liquid drained completely and the glass surrounding it outside of the tube lowered.

"Its a… Pidgeot?" Tew said in awe. "Wow…"

"This is impossible…" the scientist gawked. "I never would have thought it would be a Pidgeot! The time period this fossil had to have come from was _far_ before any Pidgey, Pidgeotto, or Pidgeot was recorded to have existed! Unless…" he paused and became lost in his thoughts.

"Unless what?" Tew asked, not being able to bear the cliffhanger.

His eyes narrowed and he scratched his chin with slight uncertainty. "Unless.. this was one of originally one of the first Pidgey ever in the world."

"What?! Is that actually possible?!"

"This is just a theory." the man hung his head in painful confusion. "But if this is true, we may have just made history."

The plume of feathers hanging from the bird's head began to flow gently in the wind that leaked through the broken windows. Its closed eyes twitched as its head began to rise.

"Ah! I- Is it waking up?!"

"I believe so!"

The Pidgeot opened its large beak and inhaled deeply, taking its first breath in the future world it was now a part of. Its wings spread widely as its eyes shot open. She let out a loud, beautiful roar. The plumage of feathers falling from its head and the array of feathers on its wings were so captivating it almost took their breath away. An old, tattered, Blue Scarf was tied around one of Pidgeot's talons.

"This is truly incredible!" the scientist remarked as he approached the bird and examined it closely. "My, my, this Pidgeot is very old, too."

A sharp, wistful feeling dropped Tew's heart to his stomach. There was something about the Pidgeot that paralyzed him with shock and confusion. Despite the beauty of the bird, his eyes focused on the Blue Scarf that was tied around its talon. "B- but…" his words failed him as consternation silenced him.

The scientist looked back at him with a concerned face. "Tew? Is something wrong? I know this Pidgeot is large, but there's no need to be afraid of it. Its peaceful."

But Tew couldn't hear the man. His eyes were now locked in a gaze of disorientation as the Pidgeot looked at him. Her cobalt blue eyes pierced the young boy's spirit and peered into his soul. It was if she somehow knew exactly what she was thinking, as if she somehow even knew him. Her large beak let out a faint smile as she folded her wings and gave the boy a nod.

"Tew… are you okay?" the man stood by his side and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

Tew quickly took his backpack off and dug around inside of it with a burning purpose. He stood up and held in his hand, not an identical Blue Scarf to the Pidgeot's, but the _exact same_ scarf. Both had the letter 'L' sewn onto it in the same spot with the same stitching, a customization that only _he_ had. The boy slowly approached her and looked up into her old eyes. She definitely knew him, but he didn't know her. He gripped the scarf in his hand and huffed with tears forming in his eyes. It was as if he wanted to cry for some reason that he couldn't place. "Who are you?" he whispered. "H- How did you get my scarf?"

The Pidgeot raised one of her wings up. Hidden deep in her feathers was a small slip of folded paper, browned and crumbled with age. She allowed the boy to reach for it and he took it into his hands. The paper was brittle with thousands of years of age, but was still somehow able to be read.

"What is it?" the scientist asked, looking over the boy's shoulder.

Tew quickly balled up the piece of paper so fiercely that it disintegrated underneath his force into nothing but particles of ancient dust in the wind. "Yuujin…" the boy sighed as he reached his hand up and stroked the old bird's face. She smiled happily down at him and hugged him tightly within her wings.

The scientist was not only extremely surprised he did such a thing, but was also angered by the loss of a piece of history. "What in the world have you done? That paper was an ancient artifact! It could have been vital towards science!"

"Trust me," Tew looked back at the man and continued to pet the Pidgeot. "It wouldn't have been worth much. Listen, I can't explain why exactly, but… this Pidgeot is mine."

"Pardon me?" the man raised an eyebrow. "You're claiming this previously fossilized Pokémon as your own? What gives you such a right?"

The mood in the room suddenly shifted. Tension thickened the air and nearly choke the scientist.

"Because…" the boy snapped his fingers once. Pidgeot spreaded her wings wide and gave them a single flap, nearly blowing the man off his feet and sending every piece of broken equipment back against the wall. "You don't exactly have a choice in the matter."

The scientist lowered his glasses and looked uneasily at the boy. "You dare impede the progress of science? This Pidgeot _needs_ to be examined."

"My friend, my _Yuujin_, is not an object that needs to be studied. She can't tell you anything you don't already know. She's a Pidgeot- simple as that." Tew folded his arms and looked down his nose at the man.

There was no time for a rebuttal from the man as a second explosion rang from outside and rocked the facility. Both Tew and the scientist gawked at the sound, having thought that the danger was over, and rushed outside.

The fields were set ablaze with a wildfire that consumed the grass and chased after many wild Pokémon attempting to escape from it.

"Shido, please! Use Aqua Jet on the fire!"

Dewott was summoned from his capsule and he quickly began to get to work, dashing over the flames with a stream of water surrounding him, dousing the flames. Jonny's Aipom assisted the otter by slamming her tail on the ground to fling dirt onto them. Pidgeot quickly put the two to shame by flapping her ancient wings, kicking up a powerful gust that blew away the flames.

"Whoa," Tew remarked at the bird. "You're pretty powerful."

Pidgeot happily nudged her head against the trainer as he patted her.

"Tew!" Jonny called out from across the smoking field.

"Jonny!" he yelled back as he ran up to him. "What's going on out here?"

"There's an Electivire terrorizing the place." Jonny stated.

Tew sharply inhaled at the mention of the Pokémon. His fists began to clench in anger and his teeth gritted. "Where is it?" he asked.

Jonny simply shrugged his arms and looked around. "I was chasing after it until it used Flamethrower and started the fire. Nice Pidgeot, by the way." he chuckled as his own Pidgeot landed next to him.

Before Tew could thank him, a large gust of wind carrying an Electivire blew past the boys and their Pokémon. They looked in the direction the blast came from and saw a slightly older trainer with a Pidgeot of his own as well waging an all-out war against the Electivire that attacked the facility.

"Man, what is this, a Pidgeot party?" Jonny groaned jokingly.

The older trainer and the scientist Tew and Jonny met earlier, now having been revealed as Noid, joined the two boys by their sides.

"Gentlemen, meet Jerold. He has been helping us out in the facility here for a while." Noid suddenly adjusted her glasses and looked at each of the Pidgeot, remarking the noticeable differences in them. "What's this? All three of you have Pidgeot, I see."

"Yep," Jonny nodded and turned to the youngest, Tew. "Hey, how come yours is so much bigger and stronger?"

The boys quickly compared their Pidgeot and not only did Tew's possess the most power, she was also the oldest and slowest out of the three. Surprisingly, all of the Pidgeot were female. Jerold's seemed to be the youngest while Jonny's was stuck in the unhappy middle.

However, the time to continue comparing their Pokémon would have to wait. The Electivire reappeared in front of them, aiming a powerful Thunder Punch at them. Tew's Pidgeot quickly stepped in and held her wing, taking the full brunt of the attack and flicking it off as if it were a speck of dirt. Electivire flew back and prepared a Thunder to shock her, but was immediately stopped by her menacing glare. The Thunderbolt Pokémon let out an angry roar and retreated in a bright flash of electricity, leaving the trainers and their Pokémon baffled.

Jerold folded his arms and growled in anger at the sight of the Wildlife Sanctuary. Many of the homes that the wild Pokémon had were burned to cinders, trees were snapped in half, and the ground was torn up and scorched by fire. "That Electivire _had_ to have belonged to someone. No wild one would ever do something like this."

"But who?" Jonny asked. "Who would make an Electivire do something like this?"

Noid let out a defeated sigh as she adjusted her glasses and closed her eyes, unable to look at the devastation around her. "That Electivire was searching for something on the grounds of this facility. Everything that was destroyed here was just collateral damage to it."

"What was it trying to find?" Jonny asked again.

They soon found the answer in the interrupting of the scientist. "Noid, the place where we found the old fossil seemed to have the most damage. The ground is completely scorched and torn up."

"Why would an Electivire be after a fossil?" Jerold asked.

The scientist narrowed his eyes at Tew's Pidgeot. "Why don't you ask those two?" he pointed at the young boy and his Pokémon.

"That's what was in the fossil? A Pidgeot?" Noid hopped off her Scolipede and took a closer examination to which the large bird squawked and nearly smacked her away with her large wing. She looked back at the male scientist and asked "Why is it in the possession of this boy?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out…" he said with heavy hostility. "They have the same exact scarf and he even apparently knows her by _name_. There was a note hidden underneath the Pidgeot's wings and he destroyed it."

The air became heavy with tension once again as the young boy could feel the uneasy opinions of him forming in everyone's minds.

"Look," Tew started. "I _really_ wish I could explain why and how I know this Pidgeot right now, but I can't, and I'm sorry. If I do, then something catastrophic would happen."

"Really?" the scientist questioned him. "How do you know that?"

"The note told me."

"And do you have proof of the note telling you?"

Tew paused as he knew he had just backed himself into a corner. "N- No." he finally managed to say in a hushed stammer.

"Relinquish possession of the Pidgeot at once, young man." the scientist ordered. "You are impeding with an official scientific breakthrough in history and I will _not_ have you ruin this."

"I refuse." he barked back at the man. "My friendship with this Pidgeot is more valuable than your 'scientific breakthrough'." he openly mocked.

"Selfish brat!" the man yelled. "I could have you removed from the Circuit for this ludicrous behavior!"

"Simon." Noid authoritatively stated. "There is no need for such a threat. As far as I am concerned, he, even when asked to stay away, helped to save this facility. For that, I am grateful and this extinguishes any thoughts of him being connected to that Electivire. However…" she traversed around the young boy with narrowed eyes. "We _did_ find the Pidgeot first, making it ours. But, we are not heartless people. Obviously, you and this Pokémon somehow have a bond, despite meeting what I can only assume to be minutes ago."

"What's your point?" Tew growled with his fists clenched in frustration.

"I offer you this deal: defeat myself and Simon in a four-on-four double battle and we will allow you to keep the Pidgeot. If you lose against us, you must relinquish possession of the Pidgeot to us in the name of science. We only ask that in terms of this deal, you refrain from using the Pidgeot in battle, as it may receive unwanted damage."

"And if I decline this deal?"

Simon, the male scientist, reentered the conversation and faced the boy. "If you decline this deal, I _will_ take authoritative action against you for theft of a Pokémon."

A rage burning hotter than the Electivire's Flamethrower ignited inside of him as he was now faced with a hard choice. Confliction tensed his body up tightly. It was almost overwhelming, the fact that he was now practically being forced to battle to keep a Pokémon that somehow, rightfully belonged to him. "F- Fine. I accept your terms. But, since I can't use Pidgeot, I'll only have three Pokémon. That'll make it unfair for me."

"You have one week to assemble a team of four Pokémon. Myself and Simon will be using two Pokémon each." Noid stated. "We will battle in the Arach Village Gym a week from today."

"Wait a second…" Jonny jumped in. "Ah!" he suddenly shrieked. "I knew your name sounded familiar! You're Noid, the Gym Leader of Arach Village!"

"This is correct." the woman nodded. "Perhaps my assumption in assuming your intelligence was less than average may have been mistaken. However," she turned her head and looked down her nose at the youngest. "My opinion of you still stands."

"Quite honestly, I couldn't give a Rattata's dirty ass what you think of me." Tew growled angrily. "You threaten to take away one of my friends and you make me angry. I'll fight you on your terms, but if I win, not only do I keep Pidgeot, you give me a Gym Badge, too. Also, seeing as how you're the Bug-type Gym Leader and Simon will be battling with you, he needs to use Bug-types, too. To keep things as fair as they possibly can."

Noid smirked at the boy's added conditions and agreed. "If you win, you keep the Pidgeot and receive Web Badge as well. Anything else?"

"No." Tew stated.

"Good." the woman, along with Simon, mounted the Scolipede who had been waiting patiently. "Jonny, you are more than welcome to come to the gym at any time. Jerold, you've already earned your badge and have done more than enough for the facility. You are free to go as you please. And for you, Tew, I'll see you in a week."

As the scientists rode the large Megapede off into the Wildlife Sanctuary facility, the deal was set in stone. Tew was to face them both in a four-on-four double battle in approximately one week. But first, he had to capture another Pokémon to use and somehow train it up to speed for the battle. His newly obtained Pidgeot that he shared an indescribable bond with now hung in the balance. Could he really obtain a fourth Pokémon and keep his new friend? Or will science prevail over the needs of a selfish trainer and open a new gate to the future?


	40. Chapter 40

The Champion Circuit

Across Nothing Plain

Chapter 40

The young Guildmaster stood, his feet firmly planted in the soft grass, as he retrieved a capsule from his pocket and tossed it. "Chester, please!" he announced.

The faithful hedgehog appeared in a blast of light released from the ball and flexed his quills. He threw his arms up as the enemy looked back at him with its round, blue eyes. It looked innocent enough, its shape a sphere and body color the pink of a small school girl's ribbon. Both he and his trainer had come to realize over their past journeys that looks never meant a thing. Often times, it was those that had the most innocent looks that turned out to be the most dangerous.

And this was no different. The wild Jigglypuff rushed Chespin and inflated its body. It soared in the air at a high speed and came crashing down with its full weight slamming down on him. So much force was behind the attack that it kicked up a large dust cloud. As it cleared, the Balloon Pokémon stood with its arms folded, back to its opponent, with an unimpressed, yet proud frown on its face.

"Chester!" Tew called out. He watched as the hedgehog struggled to his feet from his enemy's might. But upon regaining his posture, Chespin let out a loud roar of dedication. In the past, he'd fought legendaries, faced many opponents with horrendous type disadvantages, and through it all, he emerged- no _way_ that the hedgehog was going to back down from one attack. No matter how strong the foe may be. Tew felt the determination exude from his Pokémon and became fired up, sharing in the feeling through their powerful bond. "That's right! Poison Jab!"

Chester raised his arms and brought them down to his side, clenching his fists that became shrouded in a poisonous aura. He thrusted both arms forward and rapidly punched at the enemy. Jigglypuff puffed its chest out and contemptuously took every single attack.

The boy's eyes widened as the Balloon Pokémon stood its ground, withstanding the punches. "It isn't dodging… despite the fact that its a super effective move, it isn't budging one bit!"

Jigglypuff stood with his feet planted firmly ground as it continued to withstand the powerful punches being slugged at it. The sudden inflation of the Pokémon's body blew Chester away. It charged at the hedgehog with twin fists engulfed in flames. The pink balloon took in air and caught an up draft, flying high into the sky and falling down on the hedgehog, clotheslining the hedgehog into the ground. Enough power was behind the double Fire Punch to kick up another dust cloud. Jigglypuff flew up into the air again with its inflated body and slammed into an already downed Chester, finishing the job.

Once the smoke petered out into the atmosphere, Tew's teeth gritted together harshly with appall. "Chester, return." he solemnly said, recalling his fallen partner back to his capsule for rest. "Pierce, please!" With a quick dig in his pocket, another capsule was sheathed and a Pokémon was summoned to the field.

Beedrill held his large, twin stingers in the air and buzzed loudly in a show of power. Jigglypuff was aloof once again.

"Air Cutter!" he ordered.

Pierce soared into the sky, positioning himself above the opponent and rained down razor blades of air from his wings. The Balloon Pokémon inhaled deeply, filling its body with air as a defense mechanism. The blades of air bounced off Jigglypuff's body effortlessly, repelled back up at the bee with double the force. Beedrill was pummeled into the ground by his own attack, but refused to give up.

Tew was surprised at the resourcefulness of the wild Pokémon, which reassured him in his decision to capture it. Before the Jigglypuff, he battled many other opponents, but none gave him the exciting rush of a possible loss like this one, which was _exactly_ what he spent the day searching for. "Pierce, Poison Sting!"

The bee stood up with a valiant roar and fired hundreds of sharp needles at his opponent. Jigglypuff inflated its body and repulsed the attack right back.

"Just as we expected!" the boy smirked confidently.

Jigglypuff looked up in shock to see Beedrill buzzing above it.

"Do it! Payback!"

Pierce aimed both stingers down at the pink balloon and dive bombed into it. Jigglypuff was initially caught off guard by the attack and took damage, but turned the force of Payback around and grabbed the bee's stingers, forcing them into the ground. It then clasped both fists together and delivered a devastating double Fire Punch once again, ending Pierce's attempts in subduing it.

The rushing blood through Tew's veins was fast and raging. It gave him an indescribable feeling that pumped him up. Albeit another one of his Pokémon fainted again, part of him felt happy he could distract himself from recent events with a good battle. Pierce was returned to his ball, thanked for his service, and put deep into his trainer's pocket for a rest. "Shido, please!" Tew called out as he summoned his final Pokémon, barring Pidgeot from use for his own reasons.

Dewott appeared on the field in the lotus position, deep in thought as he sharpened his mind. Jigglypuff eyed the meditating otter oddly, not fully understanding what he was doing. It decided to wait no longer for the opponent to make a move and soared high into the sky, preparing to fall.

Tew managed to calm himself and close his eyes, focusing his mind to the surroundings around him and merging with his Pokémon's patient battling style. A sudden pressing urge caused his eyes to shoot open as the enemy was nearing his Pokémon. "Shido, Razor Shell!"

In the blink of an eye, the Silent Samurai sheathed his weapon and slashed at the Balloon Pokémon.

"Don't let it rest! Aqua Jet!"

As Jigglypuff was sent flying by the previous attack, it was met with a barrage of water slamming into its body. Shido changed from his linear direction and surged up into the sky, taking the opponent along for the ride.

"Now, Ice Beam!"

He stopped high in the air and placed his feet on the balloon, rebounding off of it and firing a horrifically cold shock wave from his mouth. Jigglypuff regained its composure and cleaved through the beam with a fist shrouded in flames. Both Pokémon fell to the ground and awaited the other's next move.

The boy stood with his arms folded, both shocked and impressed. "Well, I don't think I was expecting you to do _that_." he chuckled. "Aqua Jet!"

Shido surrounded his body in water and shot down the field like a bullet. Jigglypuff inhaled a large amount of air. Instead of using it to keep its body inflated, it released it in a large, continuous gust of wind that stopped the otter in his tracks. Dewott pushed against the intensity of the storm with all of his might. He was suspended in the air by the whipping gusts of wind, stopped at a complete stand still.

Tew could see the otter's refusal to budge, but also noticed the storm not being let up anytime soon. "Shido, Dig!"

The otter flipped out of his Aqua Jet and dove underground, quickly burrowing away from the storm. He resurfaced underneath the pink balloon with powerful punch of his fist, sending the Jigglypuff high into the sky.

"Wrap this up with Razor Shell!"

Shido chased after the Jigglypuff and sheathed his scalchops, bringing them together and slamming them down on the Balloon Pokémon's back. Jigglypuff collided with the ground having enough force behind it to stir up a large dust cloud.

Tew took an empty Poké Ball from his pocket and tossed deep into the smoke. The capsule came flying back. Had he not jumped out of the way, it surely would have smacked into him.

Jigglypuff charged from the cloud and flattened its body to an extremely paper-thin state. Its right foot quickly inflated as it swept it against Dewott's ankles, knocking him off his feet. The Balloon Pokémon quickly returned to its regular size and as its opponent fell, punted him with a Mega Kick straight to the stomach. Shido was sent flying, but quickly regained composure using Aqua Jet to stabilize himself and fell to the ground on his feet.

"I was sure that Razor Shell Dig combination would work…" he growled in frustration. "If that won't get you, then this will! Use Aqua Jet!"

Shido propelled himself forward in a jet of water. Jigglypuff prepared two Power-Up Punch attacks and began to rush toward its opponent.

"Gotcha!" Tew smiled. "Now, transition into Razor Shell!"

The otter broke from his stream of water and held his scalchops out in front of him as the speed from Aqua Jet pushed him onward. Jigglypuff met its opponent in the middle of the field and smirked deviously. It psyched the boy and Dewott out by preparing double false Power-Up Punch and fell to the ground, watching as the otter passed over it in a complete miss. The pink balloon's arms supported it by slamming into the ground and pushing it forward, delivering a powerful Mega Kick to the otter's stomach.

"Ice Beam!" he quickly called out.

As Dewott was sent into the air, he released a chilling beam that took Jigglypuff off guard and struck it, leaving it encased in ice. A mysterious, blue aura began to bleed from the otter's body as his senses immediately heightened and power coursed through his body like a raging freight train.

"Let's finish this with Razor Shell!"

Shido sheathed his scalchops and dove down with the swiftness of a coursing river, the grace of a samurai, and the force of a great typhoon behind him. In one fell swoop, he sliced through the thick ice with enough destructive power to cause a fairly large explosion. The Samurai darted up from the mushroom cloud and back to his trainer's side, letting out an exhausted sigh as the Torrent ability faded with the blue aura.

Tew quickly took another empty Poké Ball from his bag. "Come on… work this time!" he called in desperation as he tossed the capsule. It disappeared deep in the smoke, not emerging in the form of a retaliation as another did before. Both he and his Pokémon anxiously awaited for the cloud to disperse. Upon the dying of the smoke, a lone capsule sat in the grass, almost buried by it. The two quickly rushed over and examined it closely, confirming the capture. They breathed a sigh of relief as the exciting battle was over.

"Well, well," a familiar voice said in its usual condescending tone, accompanied by fake applause. "Looks like you're making _great_ strides."

Tew found is sigh of relief to have been too soon as he turned around to see the face of his younger brother staring at him with that twisted smile. "What are you doing here?" he immediately stood up and tensed his body.

"Ah, but don't you know? Remember what I promised to do for you?" Tel raised a curious eyebrow and crinkled his nose. His voice was cursed with a sinister tone, complimented only by his the appearance of a wild smile. "I'm here for step one of your divine retribution, _my brother_."


	41. Chapter 41

The Champion Circuit

Across Nothing Plain

Chapter 41

The horrible, pungent odor of decaying life awoke Tew to a dark, foggy forest all around him. Towering trees with trunks so steeped in blood and dread were at every turn of his head. Deep inside of the boy's heart brewed sickening feeling of disgust and turmoil filled his heart. It erupted out of his mouth like fireworks, spewing on the ground all over him. "Wh- where am I?!" he called out to no one in particular in hope for an answer as he wiped his mouth. Fear and painful anxiety soon began to overtake him with a quick check of his pockets to find his Poké Balls missing. "Where're my Pokémon?!"

An eerie, but strikingly similar voice echoed loudly throughout the thick trees. "Welcome to your downfall, my brother."

"Tel!" Tew cried out at the trees. "You've completely lost it! Let me out of here and give back my Pokémon!"

"Really?" the voice asked in befuddlement. "Is it I that has _truly_ lost it, or you? Please, Brother, let us find out as I begin to tear the very confines and mental barriers of your sanity inch by inch. _THEN_ you will know who is the one that has lost it."

The murky trees in front of him began to shift and siddle, as if they were alive. An evil, red eye opened on each one of them. They began to reveal their gaping maws of mouths, letting out a shrieking cry that bit the boy's ears. Roots connected to the trees dug themselves out of the dry, craggy grasses and led the trees to create a straight path in front of him. No light shined, not even the moon cracking down through the concrete-thick leaves. All that guided him was the fog shifting and flowing down the road like a river, pulling him by the legs with its powerful current.

As Tew made his way down the mysterious path with no other choice, he soon came across two familiar figures. One was small with a dark complexion that almost made him miss it. But there was no mistaking those dark red quills on its head and the equally as red hoodie of wood on its back. Next to the smaller creature was a bigger shadow, yet it was on all fours. It had a bright, white coat of fur that set his heart at ease, as he'd combed it _many_ times before. The long, black scythe that hung off its head was easy to miss in the dark, but not easy to miss by the boy's eyes. Without a doubt, he had stumbled on his two most faithful Pokémon: Chespin and Absol.

"Chester! Absol!" Tew cried out as he rushed over to them.

The two Pokémon did not share his pleasure in seeing him and quickly turned around, both eyeing him with a large amount of despondency. Tensions suddenly grew so thick that it drew the breath from his lungs and made his heart race as it begged for clean air.

"Let's see what your Pokémon would think of you if they knew the truth…" the voice said.

Chester folded his arms and shook his head forlornly. "Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?" he asked his Pokémon.

"Arceus Above," Chester groaned tiredly. "You _always_ do this- go around and do bad stuff and convince yourself none of it ever happened."

"Chester?" Tew's eyebrow rose as he approached him. "C'mon, quit fooling around and lets get outta he-"

A sudden angry growl from Absol and the bearing of her sharp fangs caused the boy to jump back. "Get back from us, you monster!" she snarled.

"Absol!" Tew squealed. "What in the world is the matter with you? What, are you mad I didn't brush your fur?"

"I'm sorry I even _let you_ near my fur." she snapped.

"Could the two of you _please_ just tell me what's going on?" he begged.

"We know you really did it, Tew. We know what _you_ did to Audie." Chester said with an accusing tone. "Just stop playing stupid."

"Come _on_." he groaned. "All three of us know as clear as day that I didn't do it."

"Really?" Chester raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it _true_ that you were excited when you first saw Sasha and didn't know he was a boy?"

"What does Sasha have anything to do with this?" Tew scoffed.

"Ever since then, you've had an undeniable curiosity about girls."

"I have not!" he vehemently denied the undeniable. "I can't believe you, Chester. You actually think I did it?"

"I _know_ you did it." the hedgehog stressed. "I haven't seen you deny anything like this since you started denying your past."

"My past? Now you're not even making any sense!" he scoffed again. "I mean, really? Did Tel brainwash you or something?"

"You're forgetting that I was with you _every_ step of the way." Chester growled. "I know who and what you really are."

"You mean trainer and Guidmaster of The Weedles Guild? Yep, that's me." he nodded.

Absol stepped forward and put a paw out on the hedgehog's chest, holding him back. "You know, when you hatched me, it was one of the happiest days of my life. I trusted you and I thought you were a good person. I even thought of you as a father. But you're nothing but a disgrace."

"A- Absol?" Tew stammered. "Tha-"

"Sh." she hushed him. "For once, its my turn to speak. I've kept quiet about this long enough. No father of mine would ever do something as disgusting as this. I can't believe you. I looked up to you! I tried my hardest every day to gain your approval and you pull something like this?! I don't even _want_ your stupid approval anymore. Just do me and your Pokémon a favor and release them." the white-furred Pokémon turned her back on the trainer. "You don't deserve us anyway."

"Absol! Chester!" he cried out, voice dripped with desperation. His Pokémon refused to lift their lowly-hung heads and look back as they disappeared into the darkness. Suddenly, a wave of perception opened his eyes to the situation before him. "Hold on… There's no way my Absol could be here! This is all-"

"Ah!" Tew screamed himself awake in his bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Blinding lights shined in his eyes as the puffs of hot, anxious breath blasted against his cool face.

"There he is!" another familiar voice said.

"Thank you for your help, sir." an older man said.

The boy felt himself being pulled up by large arms and pushed to the carpet beneath him. Both arms were pinned behind his back as the embrace of cold metal wrapped around them with an audible click noise. As he was pulled up, he saw the recognizable face of a vixen, his first kiss. "S- Sasha?"

Sasha could only muster up the courage to spit on his face and smack his cheek red. Tears fell from his eyes as he could no longer bear the turmoil and disaster of their now broken friendship. His face, before he was hauled away out of sight, said everything.

"You can't believe them! I didn't hurt anyone!" he pleaded. "I wouldn't hurt anyone!"

But the young vixen didn't know what to believe anymore. It was like his world was turned upside down and all around. Nothing made sense to him and neither did it make sense to the accused boy. Both were left wondering a simple question with only one word: "Why?"

With a simple close of his eyes, Tew suddenly found himself in a white abyss, free of his handcuffs, but still trapped by his confusion and anguish. It was a bright, cold oblivion, almost similar to another oblivion he had come to know. The cuts, both fresh and healed, began to leak a crimson liquid that dropped to the white ground beneath him. Pain was not present, as his body felt numb and weighed down.

Off in the distance were five figures, familiar in shape and extremely easy to identify. "Chilla, Ria, Pierce, Shido, Yuujin!" he broke out into what would have been a happy, almost tearful sprint to his Pokémo. His body doubled in mass and he collapsed onto the floor. "I c- can't reach.." he said, stretching his heavy arm out in front of him.

The Pokémon were just as in reach as they blurred out and back into focus. His fingers reached for them hysterically with his body and troubled, fractured heart growing heavier by the second. Each of the creatures turned a head back to him and scoffed without a care. They began to depart from his reach despite his constant screams and yells of objection. "G- Guys! Wait! Where are you going?!"

A sudden, chilling wind whipped through the air. It lifted his substantial body up into the air and slammed him against a freezing concrete wall. With a scream of pain, the cold oblivion was washed away with a dark, compact jail cell that stunk of mold and assorted waste. The foul stench caused him to retch repeatedly in the corner. Upon performing the aforementioned action, however, he found his wrists were free of the chilling metal that gripped them, but still bound by the blood that leaked from his cuts.

Another familiar face stood from the other side of the thick bars that prevented the boy's escape. She sniffled, turning her head with her arms folded, expressing anguish very clearly on her face. A single tear rolled down her cheek and stained a spot on her shirt right below her collarbone.

"Reina!" Tew jumped up and clasped his fists on the bars, gripping them tightly. "P- Please! Get me out of here!"

Reina turned a disgusted upper lip at the boy as her eyes shut tight to hold back the tears that leaked through them. "I can't believe you… And I thought we were friends, too… How could you hurt Audie like that?"

"I didn't do it!" he screamed at the top of his lugs, almost shattering his larynx.

"The police have _you_ at the crime scene! Why don't you just stop and face reality already?!" the girl seemed to beg. "Arceus Above! Its like you trained yourself to not deny it!"

"Reina… look at me." Tew pleaded softly as tears soaked and sweat his face. "Just look into my eyes! Do you _really_ think I'm capable of something like that?!"

The girl turned a cold shoulder to the boy and walked away, weeping to herself in silence. A stiffening blow of depression struck his heart as he fell back against the wall of his cell in a comatose slump, well aware of things around him, but numbed with shock to take any action. His green, verdant eyes that were so filled with life had diminished, destroyed by the misguided accusations of the friends he held dear.

"Hey… get up, kid." a familiar voice said. But his body was paralyzed by distraught. "Pfft. Can't even face your best friend?" the girl said, flipping her hair in back of her. "You know, when we first met and you had that wild dream of forming a guild, I never thought you'd do it. But then you did, that surprised me. And from there on out, you never ceased to stop surprising me. But this time… you've really done it." Ashleigh sighed in disappointment. "Look, the guild took a vote and… to put it simply, you're no longer leader."

If Tew could be crushed anymore by the turmoil, he would be infused with cold cement beneath him and underneath the cell. He had truly lost everything that he held dear in him and his body couldn't even bear it. It completely shut down from the shock and he was left in his own waste and drool as the endless days passed in his vile cell.

"Hey!" a guard yelled as he slid the cell doors open. "Get up, kid. You have a visitor."

The boy didn't register the babbling of the guard nor did he even have any concept of it. His mental state was that of a literal vegetable, unable to comprehend anything.

The stocky man groaned. "Come on, don't have all day. It's important, too. Kid says he's your boyfriend or something."

And just like that, a little spark of hope reignited inside of Tew's heart as a bright fire set ablaze and burned him back into the real world. He slowly got up, dealing with his stiffened muscles, and was led to a shower where he washed up and received a new pair of clothes- the ever so sought after orange jumpsuit.

"Sasha!" Tew cried happily as he burst through the double doors of the visiting room. His eyes desperately scanned the room for the little cross-dressing vixen, but saw no one of any sort, only a somewhat confused Damien sitting near a window, giving him an uneasy look.

"Sasha?" the younger boy repeated. "Who's that?"

"N- No one." he said as he quickly sat down to the table. His face conveyed a fake, droll happiness with a wide smile and bright eyes. "I've missed you!"

"Yeah…" Damien sighed, looking away from him.

"How've you been?" he asked.

"Good." the boy quickly responded, still not making eye contact with him.

"Erm… how's the challenge?"

"Look," Damien stated. "I can't do this."

"D- Damien… come on… don't do this." Tew begged quietly, not having the strength to yell. "Please… you're _all_ I have left. You _KNOW_ I didn't do this…"

"Arceus Above… Reina was right." Damien growled. He put a hand over his face and screamed into it, banging his fist on the table. "God! You're just so _stupid_ sometimes, you know?! We had a good thing going! You, me, Reina- it was all going just fine! You _promised_ that we were going to be together the night before we got to Regimen Village! But _nooooo, _you just _HAD_ to go and ruin everything!"

Tew jumped at the anger of his friend and put his arms locked in handcuffs up over his face to cower at the boy's might. "Damien, stop!"

"No!" he yelled with a quick slap to the inmate's face and a vigorous shake of his shoulders. "_YOU_ STOP!"

The angry, thundering blue eyes of the boy struck his soul like 100,000 volts of lightning. It was shattered under the power and reduced to nothing but dust as he took off in a fit of rage, overturning and destroying things in his path. Before Tew knew it, he found himself being dragged back into his jail cell and thrown against the cold concrete he'd welcomed as his bed.

With a quick blink of his eyes, he opened them to yet another white oblivion, except there were men dressed in white. His body was strapped down to a chair as if he tried earlier to escape. The faint whirring of machines and blinking of lights filled the room along with the idle chatter of scientists. In front of him was a mirror that reflected a dirty, disgusting, shit-covered face. It took him a while to realize that it was actually him.

Tel casually strolled out in front of the boy in a white lab coat and took a quick look at his clipboard. He looked back up at his vulgar brother and smiled brightly. "Tewson Hylandius yo- Oh, I'm sorry." he chuckled. "That isn't your real name, now is it? Funny, I actually went digging around and discovered… your name- not Tew, but your _real_ name, the one _our_ father gave you, was not only unable to be found, its as if it never even existed. And you know what? It was the same with rape accusation. Its as if… you called in a few favors and had all traces of them completely eradicated. Not even your _guild members_ can recall your true name. But you forgot about me…" he grinned slyly. With a clear of his throat, he continued. "_As_ I was saying, _Levi Hylandius_, you have been condemned to die in the white room by a jury of your peers, sentence imposed by a judge in good standing in this region."

And sure enough, the entirety of The Weedles Guild looked on behind the glass with eager eyes, along with Sasha Lovell, Damien Stein, Grace Elliot, Reina Oyakami, Siphon Rayzar, Ayou Kagefusa, Jonathan Canden, and Jerold Reed.

Tel narrowed his eyes at his older brother with a raised eyebrow. "Do you have anything to say before sentence is carried out?" The same Jigglypuff he had captured, now in the possession of the little brother, floated onto his shoulder with a sneer.

The former Guildmaster and Pokémon Trainer chose to remain silent. There was nothing he could say that would liberate him from the straps of the chair. What remained of his voice had been spent begging, and whatever reserves he had left were spent crying. The little energy he had was spent mutilating his poor body. He was ready to get it over with. He was ready to die.

"Levi Hylandius, you will now be viciously beaten until you are confirmed to be dead. May Arceus have the utmost mercy on your soul." Tel announced. He waved his hand up and a door opened behind him to reveal Egan, his Medicham, and Audie walking through it and confronting him. The young boy, now a full fledged Gym Leader, unleashed the power from deep within the Mega Ring on his wrist. Streaks of energy flowed from his body and Medicham's until the Pokémon started to waver and change in its shape, growing the ghostly arms and pink turban on its head until it successfully Mega Evolved. The three reeled back and unleashed a vicious blow.

**. . .**

"Now, you see what you _really _are. Enjoy that dream. Soon, you will come back to me and we will fulfill our purpose." Tel said as he took his hands off the boy's head, releasing the psychic hold he had on him.

Tew fell over in a crumpled heap in the grass underneath the moonlit sky, winds softly blowing over his unconscious body. Not a single twitch emanated from his body. Just a slow, steady breath of life.

The younger brother dug in the boy's pocket and took out Jigglypuff's Poké Ball. He held down the button and allowed the capsule to open, releasing the pink Balloon Pokémon high into the sky as it floated away. His foot then destroyed the ball underneath an intense pressure and he took his leave. "Enjoy the rest of the Circuit, Brother."


	42. Chapter 42

The Champion Circuit

Across Nothing Plain

Chapter 42

Tew gripped the straps of a his black backpack tightly as he stared at the large, cocoon-like upward spiral gym that stood in front of him. The estate was mostly brown, painting an ugly landmark for the small village of Arach and casting a shadow over it whatever direction the sun shined in. It paled in comparison to the beautiful Wildlife Sanctuary. This wasn't the proper time to be criticizing the architecture of the building, however, as the young trainer was about to face a battle with his friend hanging in the balance. He couldn't believe things had come to having to fight to keep a Pokémon that was so rightfully his.

The brown, sliding doors opened to reveal a certain bulky trainer departing from the gym as he began to start for it, having decided he was ready to face the challenge.

"Out of my way." Tew growled in a low voice as he purposefully rammed his shoulder into the boy's wide arm.

"Gladly." Siphon Rayzar said, giving the younger boy a slight shove back with his shoulder. He stopped and looked back at him as he disappeared through the grotesque cocoon. His eyebrow raised with an odd, uneasy feeling settling within him. "Something seems different about him…"

Deep inside the gym was a dark, dirt arena that the boy stood in front of. "Noid? Simon? I'm here for my battle." he called out into the void.

Simon, the scientist, emerged from the arena with a small round of applause for him and a chuckle to boot. "Well, well, well, my young iconoclast of science. Its nice to see you finally joined us." He seemed to get a thrill out of the boy showing up as he bore his crooked teeth in an amused smile. "I've been waiting a _very_ long time for this opportunity. Do you have your four Pokémon to battle with?"

Tew nodded and released Pidgeot from her capsule to fly over into the stands and watch the battle. "Yes, I di-" he found himself choked up by the worst feeling of foreboding he'd gotten since his guild adventures. It was unlike anything he ever experienced as he took a second look at the scientist. Something was off about him. The white lab coat that wrapped around his body was crinkled and wrinkled with his unusually terrible posture. His smile was too wicked to belong to a man that had devoted himself to science. But what stood out the most was the familiar, verdant eyes that looked back at him with a sinister and amused glare.

"Ah…" the scientist chuckled once again. "You seem to be figuring it out." he whispered in a low voice. "Look past the flesh, and see your enemy."

The boy soon became paralyzed with fear following the realization he came to. This was no man or someone devoted to science, but pure terror that bore the suit of one. "N- no.. You didn't…!"

"Oh yes, my blood kin. This divine retribution has only begun." Simon laughed wickedly.

"S- Simon was an innocent person! He didn't do anything wrong!" His body quickly regained movement with the anger that flooded his veins. "Tel, you can mess with me all you want, but bringing other people into our mess is uncalled for." He stepped closer to the man and looked up at him, speaking in a hushed voice. "Listen to me, I will fight you across the constellations for as long as you want, but please, leave innocent people out of this."

Simon gawked at the boy's sudden proposal, but looked away with a growl and turned his back on him. "No. It's too late now. You had your chance. Now, suffer the consequences of your denial."

"Simon," Noid called out from the other side of the field as she walked onto it. "What are you doing? We have to get ready."

"Yes, of course." the scientist replied kindly. He took his leave across the field, but stopped midway to give one last crooked look to the boy before taking his place on the opposing side.

A young referee stepped out onto the arena and held two flags in opposite hands, one red and one green. "The Gym Battle between Tew Hyland and the Gym Leader, Noid, along with her teammate, Simon, will now begin. The challenger is allowed the use of four Pokémon in this Double Battle while the Gym Leader and her teammate are allowed the use of two Pokémon each. It is my understanding that whoever wins will obtain possession of a Pidgeot, is this understood by all participants?"

The three trainers nodded in agreement.

"It has been determined that Tew gets the first move. Let the Gym Battle begin!"

Tew took out two Poké Balls from his pocket and threw them, summoning his first two choices. "Pierce, Kurai, please!" By the boy's request, his Beedrill and newly-obtained Ninetales appeared on the field.

Noid called out a large Vespiquen while Simon summoned an ancient Armaldo that both stood by, eagerly awaiting orders.

With an order from the challenger, the intense battle began. "Pierce, use Brick Break on Armaldo and Kurai, use Inferno on Vespiquen!"

"Quickly, Defend Order and Attack Order!"

"Now, Iron Defense and Rain Dance!"

Hundreds of small Combee made of light surrounded the Vespiquen's body and banded together, closing off any spaces and creating a shield around her. The ground underneath the queen erupted with a raging blast of fire that completely consumed her and the underlings around her.

Meanwhile, Pierce charged down the field and slammed his stinger down on the opponent's head as its body turned into a solid iron. The sudden turn caused the attack to do minimal damage with the bee bouncing off of it. Armaldo tilted his head to the sky and fired a blue, pulsating orb that exploded on the ceiling of the gym and covered it with thick, grey clouds. They began to downpour rain which extinguished the flames around Vespiquen. The queen then sent her underlings in both directions, blasting both Pierce and Kurai with a barrage of them as she emerged from the doused flames unscathed.

"Armaldo, Earth Power!"

"Kurai, attack the field with Psyshock! Pierce, fly up and use Poison Sting!"

Before Armaldo could slam its claw into the ground to use Earth Power, Kurai intervened. His eyes glowed with a powerful pink as psychic energy began to spew up from the earth and ravaged the entire field. The power soon took away the ground from beneath the Plate Pokémon and engulfed it within a shock wave of psychic power. All the while, Pierce had taken to the skies and rained down thousands of small, toxic needles that inflicted both opponents with the Poisoned status condition.

"Secret Power!"

Vespiquen flew up out of range of the psychic shock wave and clasped both hands together, slamming Pierce down into the erupting ground as she took damage from the poison the seeped through her veins. Not being able to differ between friend or foe, the psychic energy wrapped around Beedrill and shocked him vigorously as it did Armaldo.

"Air Slash!"

The queen began to rain down blades of air onto Pierce. He was blitzed with sharp cuts to his back as the psychic energy attacked his front, resulting in his unfortunate defeat.

"Beedrill is unable to battle!" the referee announced, waving a green flag at the Gym Leader and her teammate.

"Dammit." Tew swore as he returned his fallen partner and called out his next choice. "Chester, please!"

The faithful hedgehog appeared next to the nine-tailed fox and was ready to do battle. Ninetales ceased the eruption of the ground as Armaldo was brought to his knees by the force. Vespiquen hovered in her spot high in the sky, eyeing the Grass-type carefully.

"Chester, hop on Kurai's back and spin while using Energy Ball! Kurai, you use Energy Ball as well!"

Chester jumped onto the fox's back and began to spin, letting loose a wild storm of attacks while Kurai conjured orbs around her and sent them flying in carefully calculated intervals. While it seemed to be just a random barrage of attacks, the nine-tailed fox gave it order as she intentionally fired attacks to fill gaps that her teammate missed while he truly randomly fired them. This left the opponents with no openings to dodge and the were wrought with the constant onslaught of the attacks, lowering their Special Defenses to dangerous levels.

Tew's fists clenched with the feeling of victory as the rain continued to pour down on the field, soaking him. "Now that their defenses are down enough, it doesn't matter about the rain! Kurai, end this with Inferno! Chester, help out with Stone Edge!"

Chester slammed both fists into the ground and shot pillars of stone down the field in twin paths until they rose from underneath the two opponents and stabbed them with incredible power. From the stones erupted a terrible blast of fire that engulfed the two and burned the remaining health from them, resulting in their defeat.

"Vespiquen and Armaldo are unable to battle!" the referee waved a red flag in the challenger's favor.

Both trainers from the green corner returned their Pokémon and called out their last two choices. From Noid was her trusted Scolipede while from the shifty scientist came a fairly large and powerful-looking Pinsir.

"Let's end this now. Inferno and Stone Edge!" Tew ordered.

The two Pokémon banded together and combined their powers, releasing a powerful combination of the two attacks. Chester sent pillars of stone erupting down the field until they reached their opponents while Kurai shot white-hot flames from them.

"Pinsir, use Scolipede as a shield." the scientist sinisterly ordered.

Pinsir jumped on Scolipede's back and used the Megapede Pokémon's body as a shield to protect itself from the bursting flames and stones that made quick work of it.

The referee was hesitant to make a call as he and everyone was surprised by the alarming tactics Simon used. "S- Scolipede is unable to battle! The Gym Leader, Noid, is out of useable Pokémon!" he said, waving a red flag on the challenger's side.

"Simon!" Noid yelled as she turned to him. "What's gotten into you?! What in the world was tha-"

The man shoved her down and delivered a swift blow to her side with his foot, chuckling wickedly. "Stupid wench. I shall have no interruptions this time!" he said, eyeing the challenger with his crooked, verdant eyes.

Yuujin quickly swooped down and grabbed the Gym Leader and referee by the collar of their shirts with her beak, delivering them to Tew's side.

"Please, stay behind me." the young challenger ordered. "That man- he isn't Simon you know. Not anymore."

Before Noid could even interject and question the young boy, she was quickly interrupted.

"Now!" Simon yelled as he ripped his lab coat off to reveal a Mega Ring around his wrist. "Let us begin!" His finger pressed on the keystone and streaks of energy began to leak from his body and Pinsir's. The arena was filled with a powerful, blinding light as the Stagbeetle's body began to change in shape and form. Wings sprouted from its back while its pincers gained sharp horns. It was filled with a terrible power as it broke free from the light of evolution that surrounded it, revealing its Mega Evolved form, a sight of true terror.

Tew could feel a horrible chill slither down his spine like an Arbok across a road. "I- it Mega Evolved?" he growled, clenching his fists in fear.

"Quick Attack and Superpower on Ninetales." the scientist chuckled.

The successfully Mega Evolved Pinsir confounded both of his foes with speed as he appeared in front of Ninetales. He focused the entirety of Superpower into his knee. His powerful arms grabbed the defenseless fox and broke her back upon slamming her down into his knee, crippling her and defeating her in the process.

"K- Kurai, return!" Tew called out as he recalled the fallen fox to her capsule and sheathed his final choice. "Shido, please!"

The Silent Samurai, as he appeared on the field, was wrought with fear by the sight of his opponent. Chester shared in the fear and the two Pokémon began to dig deep inside themselves to look past it.

"Superpower!" Simon ordered.

Mega Pinsir rushed the two Pokémon, focusing the attack in both of his arms and clotheslining his opponents into the ground.

"Chester! Shido!" Tew called out. Both Pokémon got up slowly, their injuries proving it difficult for them. "Rollout!"

"Focus Blast."

The hedgehog heard his call to action as he curled up into a ball and barreled down the field at his opponent like a cannon ball. Pinsir stopped him with the palm of his hand and caught him by his face, gripping it tightly. He erupted a focused blast of energy in the hedgehog's face, blowing him away as the Eviolite on his neck glistened in the rain.

"Now, Blizzard!"

Shido released a chilling storm of ice from his hands that whipped at the enormous Stagbeetle, dealing super effective damage that was sure to put a big dent in his health. Pinsir roared in pain as the winds and chunks of ice slammed against his powerful body.

"Focus Blast, again!" Simon ordered angrily.

"Shido, use Dig and Razor Shell! Chester, use Rollout!"

The Samurai burrowed underground just in time to narrowly avoid the blast of energy that blew past him. He came up underneath the Stagbeetle, delivering a left hook with his scalchop while Chester slammed down in between the beetle's horns.

"Mega Pinsir lost a lot of Attack and Defense from constantly using Superpower…" Tew deduced as he watched his Pokémon unleash their onslaught of effective attacks. He soon smirked confidently as this was obviously something his brother had not accounted for and began to see the battle as an easy win. "Razor Shell and Poison Jab! Go!"

Chester and Shido began to let loose a powerful assault on their once frightening opponent as one slashed masterfully with weapons that sliced at his body while the other delivered swift right and left hooks with his arms seeped deep in poison. Mega Pinsir, unable to defend from the two attacking at once, fell to all fours in a desperate effort to stay up and try to face his opponents.

"Now, let's put an end to this, you two. Water Pulse and Energy Ball!" Tew commanded.

The two Pokémon stepped in front of the almost-fallen Mega Pinsir. He looked up at his two enemies smiling down their noses at him as they each raised a hand up and charged their respective attacks. They soared high into the sky and fired a combined Water Pulse and Energy Ball down on the Stagbeetle Pokémon, resulting in both a massive explosion and his defeat.

However, much to everyone's surprise, as the mushroom cloud from the attack disappeared, both Pinsir and his trainer had disappeared. The only thing present in the wake of destruction was the body of a scientist laying on the edge of the field, unresponsive. Noid and the referee rushed over to it, finding the man, Simon, to be dead, much to their dismay.

Tew could only stand on the opposite side of the field with his eyes narrowed at the man's body in silent distraught for his inappropriate death. Yet another body had been piled on his conscience. The sting of distress and anxiety felt just as real as it did back in his guild adventures as now his new name was stained with its first drop of blood. Feelings of hatred brewed even hotter inside the boy as he departed from the gym in anger. His emotions and composure were pushed to the edge. Anymore and he just might surpass his breaking point.


	43. Chapter 43

The Champion Circuit

Across Nothing Plain

Chapter 43

A loud sneeze escaped the young boy's mouth from deep within the dusty forest as he continued his journey through the Hokkaido Region, happening upon simultaneously the largest and only forest in its plains- the Forest of Departure. Legend has said that trainers are overcome with the feeling to part with a beloved Pokémon of theirs. Many have attributed such a possible secret hidden behind its deepest, tallest trees, but none have been able to venture in far enough to see such a wonder. As it currently stood, those that entered the forest had only one goal in their mind: to get out of it as soon as possible, for going around it would have made quite the longer trip.

None of this mattered to a certain young and now rougher boy as Tew took a Poké Ball from his pocket and held down the button on the front of it. His finger moved, allowing a bright, blue light to pierce out of the capsule and dance in front of him until a visible shape was formed. A majestic, cream-colored fox with nine tails stared at him ominously.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Tew spoke with his eyes narrowed and fixated on the fox, using her as an excuse to not look at the trees for reasons of his own. "Go on, get out of here. It just isn't working between you and me."

The now wild Ninetales growled at him angrily, bearing her sharp teeth covered in red hot flames that could scorch a diamond into cinders. Her head was lowered, but her tails pointed toward the sky with a mysterious psychic energy surrounding her body.

Tew sharply inhaled at the sudden revelation of why the Pokémon was noticeably angry at him. "You figured it out.." He mouthed to no one in particular silently. "You figured out that I only used you for the Gym Battle, didn't you?"

He could see the rage and heart-break in her red eyes as flames began to leak out of her mouth.

His left eye twitched and he let out a cold laugh, having been hardened and corrupted by visions that haunted his psyche, slowly pushing him away from his normal, happy demeanor and driving him lower nto old, misguided habits that were better suited for a criminal. "Well, I didn't know in the week I had you that I raised you to be so perceptive." He took another capsule from his pocket, this time maximizing it in his hand and holding it in front of him. The glare Ninetales gave him was shot right back at her in the shiny reflection on the ball. "I also didn't know I raised you to be a persistent pest like my other Pokémon."

The formerly Kurai only stood, her anger building up inside until she could no longer contain it. A blast of powerful psychic energy erupted from the ground in a straight line aimed right at the young boy. He managed to move aside just in time to avoid serious damage.

"You're making a mistake." He growled. "The nerve you have to challenge me… You _do_ realize I could knock you out within a minute flat with the Pokémon I hold in my hand, yeah?"

Ninetales roared, overcome with anger and grief to the point where reason was lost to her. There was only hatred, covering up the sadness she truly felt underneath it.

Tew let out a sigh and pinched the base of his nose in disappointment. "Then you leave my hand no choice. Shido, please!"

In a bright flash of light, the Silent Samurai was summoned to the now battlefield with his weapons drawn, ready to slice at his opponent. Haste was not with the small samurai as he laid eyes upon an adversary he had not expected. Perhaps for training would he have been fine with a friendly fight, but nothing about this seemed friendly. He could feel something dark brewing in the trainer's heart, almost an electrifying shadow that had awoken from a long slumber to only now fade any good intentions he had to black. His mind raced with confusion as he was called back to the Gym Battle only a day ago where the boy's strategy was more harsh and unforgiving than usual. At the time, he had only thought it was because of the situation, but here and now, the situation was different and his cruelty was not.

Something was deeply wrong with Tew.

"Um, excuse me." The boy said in a sarcastic tone. "I don't believe my orders were to 'Stand there and do nothing'. I'm pretty sure I told you to use Razor Shell. Or are you still lost in your day dream about how you don't want to hurt a teammate?"

Shido looked back at his trainer and holstered his weapons on his hips, giving the boy a disgruntled look with furrowed brows and frown.

"Let's make something clear," He knelt down next to the Pokémon and talked into his ear. "Ninetales isn't on our team anymore, got it? You can hurt her."

The Samurai gasped sharply and looked back at the angered fox. A single look at her and a smell of her scent confirmed the boy's words. He reluctantly drew his scalchops once against and struck his stance, ready to do an uneasy battle.

Ninetales lunged at him and released a pulsing blast of darkness.

"Razor Shell! Please, do it this time." He groaned.

In the blink of an eye, Shido was able to retaliate with a quick slash. The attack did more damage as expected as it not only pushed back the Dark Pulse, but also sliced at the fox's mouth. She flew back from the force and thudded against the ground with a defeated whimper. A remorseful yell pierced through the Samurai's lips as he tried to rush over to her.

Tew stepped his foot in front of the small otter and blocked him with his leg and and the lowering extension of his arm. "No," He spoke lowly, eyes narrowed on the wild Pokémon with a disconcerned smirk. "She did this to herself. Let her be."

Shido grabbed the boy's black shorts and pulled them, shaking the lower half of his body with a pained look in his eyes.

"You care too much." He took the otter's Poké Ball and threatened to return him into the capsule.

At that second, a wild Zangoose clawed at them from the bushes in a surprise attack. The boy grabbed his Pokémon and dove to the ground, the wild mongoose colliding into the ground. Ninetales took the opportunity to slip away into darkness during the scuffle, never to be seen again.

Tew watched the Zangoose carefully as it tried to free itself from the ground that held its claws hostage. "Hm… Now I think I get it." He thought to himself upon a sudden revelation. "This is the Forest of Departure. Many people release their Pokémon here… that would mean challengers in the Circuit have also released their Pokémon…"

Zangoose dug its claws out of the thick, lifeless dirt and slashed at the two once again. Shido dove to defend his trainer and took a critical hit of Crush Claw straight to his chest. He let out a huff of air as the wind escaped his body, slamming into the boy with still enough force to send the two flying into the trunk of a wide tree.

A small spark of humanity and friendship ignited in the cold fire of misery that burned inside of him. "Sh- Shido, you didn't have to do that…" He stammered in shock.

Despite his trainer's new, rough nature, the otter was with him through thick and thin. He stood up and let out a roar of determination, drawing his weapons to defend him.

"I see." Tew said with a small smirk as he stood up and brushed the dirt off himself. "You're with me. Well, I'm with you! Razor Shell!"

The Silent Samurai met the Zangoose, pushing against another Crush Claw with brute force. He overpowered the angry mongoose and blew it back against the ground. It quickly got up and responded with a jab of one of its claws seeped in venomous poison. Shido threw his weapons up to block the attack and pushed it back once again.

"Water Pulse!"

The Samurai charged a orb of water in between his hands and bowled a strike at the wild Zangoose, sending it flying into nearby bushes. Last seen of the angry mongoose was its tail facing them and disappearing into the forest.

Tew wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a tired sigh. "That was a close one." He smiled warmly down at the otter. "You know, can I tell you something?" The boy let out a sigh and sat down against the trunk of a tree. Shido sat in front of him, leaning in with curiosity. "Its just that… Something, happened. I had this dream where everyone was against me, even you. But… I know you're not. At least I know now. So…" He held his hand out to the otter. "I'm placing all of my trust in you from here on out. I don't know what Chester or Pierce or Yuujin might be planning, but if they do anything, I need your help. Can I count on you?"

As the otter placed his small hand in that of his trainer's, the boy began to relive every single moment of the horrible dream- the smell of the forest he was lost in, the Trevenant that led him, the tears that rolled down his face, the terrible sting of despair, the punches thrown at him- it all felt as real as when he first experienced it, fresh in his mind and physically.

A slight shiver fell over the boy's body as he shook his hands with his comrade, the scene in which he betrayed him playing before him in his head. "S- Sorry," Tew apologized as he let out a faint smile. "Still kinda messed up." His eyes floated to the dark, lifeless trees around him. "Even now, these trees are making me feel a little anxious… Let's get through here as soon as possible. Alright?"

Shido nodded in agreement and stood up with his trainer.

"Hey," The boy said, keeping his eyes fixed on the road. "I'm going to be keeping you out of your ball from now on instead of Chester, alright? If the others ask, just tell them that we're doing some special training."

The small otter looked up at his trainer in shock, but quickly understood and nodded.

"Also… I'm going to be relying on you a lot more than I have been. From here on out, things are gonna get rough. Think you can handle it?"

Shido remained silent, true to his title, as he contemplated his trainer's words, a flinty expression painted on his face.

Tew suddenly stopped and took the otter's capsule from his pocket, gripping it tightly in his hand and refusing to look at him. "If you can't, then tell me now and you'll be free to go."

The Silent Samurai took the Mystic Water dangling from his neck in his hands and stared at it, remembering the day it was given to him. His reflection stared right back at him, a serious face of determination. He looked back up at his trainer and clenched a fist in bravery and assurance.

"Heh," He chuckled, smiling down at him. "Good. I knew I could count on you."

Together, the boy and his Pokémon resumed their journey through the forest, anxious to pull out on the other side sometime soon with a new resolve in one another. What would the road ahead hold for our young hero now that he plans to kick things up a notch?


End file.
